


The Starting Point of This Long Journey

by ariawrites



Series: Put Away Your Dark Hearts [1]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: ATEEZ Pirates AU, Alternately titled 'fuck this shit let's be pirates', Apparently I can't resist an angsty background story, Asses are kicked, Gen, Hongjoong's just tired of all the bullshit, I'm too sarcastic for it to be all doom and gloom don't worry, Kinda a little bit accurate?, Morals are abandoned, Naval Captain Hongjoong, Navy Cadets Wooyoung & Yeosang, Pirates AU, Prequel, Profanity, Slightly darker than intended, Stuff gets stolen, That time Wooyoung and Yeosang joined the Royal Navy but it turned out to be super shitty, The first in a series, The others ARE going to appear, There are lols, There is sexual harassment/assault but it's not graphic, Woosang BROTP, things get blown up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-05-28 07:18:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 32,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19389202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariawrites/pseuds/ariawrites
Summary: Kang Yeosang and Jung Wooyoung are two Navy cadets posted at Fort Charles, they joined the Navy for a better life and to you know...see the world and fight some pirates. But after an incident the rose coloured glasses are ripped from their eyes and they see the Royal Navy for what it really is begging the question who's really the villains here? The Royal Navy or the pirates?Meanwhile Captain Kim Hongjoong has had enough of pretty much everything, and after sticking his nose in to Yeosang and Wooyoung's business finds himself tangled up with the two and orchestrating a breakout and desertion because when life fucks you over, why not become a pirate instead?





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> So, I vowed I wasn't going to write another super long, intricate fic like Dead Men Tell No Tales yet here we are. This is a prequel, so while it's only 3 of the boys right now, the others are coming as is the romance and ships to ship so please be patient and bear with me. 
> 
> If you saw my general post, you'll know that I decided rather than jump straight in with my story like I'd planned and fill in background later I decided to flesh everything out more and post a couple of prequels showing how the crew came together and why they're off doing what they're going to be doing in the main story! 
> 
> This wasn't supposed to be as long as it was, believe me. This wasn't supposed to have the word count it has either...I've already written this entire prequel I just need to go back and edit the other chapters which I'll be doing at some point tomorrow hopefully before starting the next phase of the story. 
> 
> I will also say that I wasn't planning to make this as dark/intense as it is, I'm more of a sarcasm person so there is humour but I decided to give everyone angsty backstories...I'm so sorry, I don't know why I did that :') 
> 
> No-one come for me if things aren't in exactly the right place geographically, I've taken some names from places and moved them about because I can, also while I did look somethings up and already knew some stuff from DMTNT, this isn't 100% accurate with everything but some of it is so enjoy. 
> 
> Sorry for the kinda weird title? Did I need to spend an hour looking through all the lyrics for the songs from Ep One for titles for this fic so it'd spell out a sentence? No not really. Did I do it anyway? Of course. 
> 
> (Hasn't been beta'd I read through it like twice but even so I still usually miss things so apologies)

**_The sound of wind blowing from the horizon._ **

**_The warmth of the sun hitting the ocean waves._ **

**_The vibration of sand beating like the hearts of youth._ **

**_We're at the starting point of this long journey._ **

The wind ruffled Wooyoung's hair as he hurried in to Fort Charles, the place he called home. His red uniform jacket serving as his identification, even if it was slung over his shoulder, so he wasn't stopped as he strode through the gates, throwing a wink at the very good looking guard as he did so. Fort Charles perched at the top of a bluff, overlooking the bustling town of Port Royal, and the docks that housed both Navy and merchant ships. As a stronghold it was not only responsible for protecting the town and harbour from attacks by sea, namely by pirates, but for housing the Royal Navy officers and cadets that manned the fort or were waiting to ship out….along with any delinquents they happened to have arrested recently to await transportation or execution.

Wooyoung had joined the Royal Navy as soon as he turned 18, abandoned by his parents and living on the streets since the age of 12 he'd had nothing tying him to the small town he'd grown up in, and to a kid like Wooyoung it had sounded exciting. Sailing ships, fighting pirates and bad guys, swords, guns and all manner of weapons that caused chaos. But most importantly, it meant getting out of that shitty town and getting to see the world with his best friend. The one who'd snuck him leftovers whenever he could, who'd given him his old clothes and made sure he was warm when it was cold and had somewhere safe and dry to sleep by sneaking him in through the window every night. Of course much as he liked to think otherwise, his mother hadn't been blind to the grubby child her son had taken a shine to, and seemed to be attempting to adopt and care for as his own. Keeping up the charade of ignorance but making sure her son mysteriously had an extra portion on his plate each meal time, and any holes in his old and no longer wanted clothing miraculously found themselves patched. It wasn't long before it became apparent the two couldn't be separated and Wooyoung had been ushered in to their home, taught to read and write...laugh and smile. His best friend had taken an abused and abandoned boy, thrown away by the world, and made him his brother. Teaching him that people could be good, and kind, even if only for a little while. So when Wooyoung had turned 18 he immediately signed up, doing what he'd always done...following as close behind Kang Yeosang as he could.

Yeosang himself had been just as eager to get away. Yeosang had always been a happy child, if not slightly quiet, a loving mother and father, a cosy home and a best friend for life in Wooyoung, his shadow. That all changed nearly 4 years after Wooyoung had started living with them. Yeosang's mother, who was every bit as kind and caring as her son, had died from a long illness...and everything good and kind in Yeosang's father died with her. For Wooyoung, it was familiar territory...for Yeosang, it was new and frightening and so the protected had become the protector. He hadn't always been a bastard, but as he turned to drink he became an entirely different person. Angry. Resentful. A dark presence in what was once a happy, sunny home. The slightest thing could set him off, and an aura of menace started to permeate around him as the months bled in to years. Wooyoung did what he could to shield his friend, protect him from the same life he'd had before Yeosang showed him kindness for the first time. Take beatings meant for his friend, purposely drawing the mans anger. But he couldn't always. Sometimes he wouldn't be fast enough to distract the man, or he'd be out trying to earn a few coins selling penny weeklies so they could eat. Sometimes the bastard would beat Wooyoung black and blue, then find wherever he'd hidden Yeosang and drag him out too just to watch Wooyoung's face as his friend cried out in pain. Because Yeosang would never go far from Wooyoung, he was always nearby, no matter how often Wooyoung told him to run away. So Yeosang smoothed ointment on to cuts and bruises and bound up broken ribs, and Wooyoung returned the favour, although far less often. Both sorry they hadn't been able to protect the other and both determined to find a better life. To be free.

So, they'd joined the Royal Navy the first chance they'd got and in no time at all they'd made it through training, learning how to fight with swords, bare handed and how to load and fire pistols and canons. Learning the ins and outs of how a ship was run and managed and everything in between. They'd soon been issued with their uniforms and found themselves posted at one of the strongholds in the Caribbean, Fort Charles. Where they'd proceeded to quickly claw their way up to Cadet, quite a feat for two boys with no money and no connections. Unfortunately Wooyoung had seen a little less action than he'd hoped for. He'd envisioned being out on the sea, chasing down pirates and engaging in epic battles at sea. The reality was that while they were charged with capturing pirates, they were also charged with keeping the peace and protecting the shipping lanes and part of that duty meant being employed by the East India Trading Company to protect their very important goods shipments. It was a little less excitement than he'd been looking for, for the most part, but he still got to see places he never thought he'd make it to in a million years. And he got to experience all of it with his best friend as it had been quickly established they worked as a team and it was impossible to truly separate them anyway. Besides, the pirates just loved to mess with the Trading Company, the result of an ongoing grudge between the two, the former for being hunted down, branded and hung by the latter, and the latter for having their expensive goods stolen or sunk to the bottom of the sea.

"Where is he?" Wooyoung murmured to himself, searching for a head of familiar brown hair. He couldn't spot him in the square just beyond the gate, and craning his head to the left he couldn't see him admiring the sea view from the walled area just through the arches in the tall guard wall. Wooyoung rushed to the right, heading through the arched doorway that led in to a long corridor that ran away to his left and right, as well as straight on. He picked the hallway directly in front of him that reached in to the mountain neighbouring the fort. Four smaller hallways branched off of it, one for the mess hall, kitchens and laundry, the other for the Officers with the remaining two housing the Cadets rooms. Wooyoung rushed forward heading towards the hallway on the far right. _Maybe he's in our room. He should have gotten back before me, but I thought he might be waiting for me in the square._

Wooyoung and Yeosang had ventured in to town on a rare day off before their next posting, of course as they were heading back Wooyoung had been waylaid by his usual fan club and Yeosang had elected to return home instead of standing around watching him flirt with the pretty young ladies, and gentlemen, that comprised it. _Honestly, he should have stuck around, he could have learned a thing or two from the master. What good's reading about it in books if you don't put it in to practice._ Wooyoung chuckled to himself. As he was heading towards the general direction of their room he came to an abrupt stop as he heard a male voice floating out from the shadows of an alcove not far from their door.

"You always look so sad, someone as beautiful as you doesn't deserve to feel that way. You should smile more." the slimy voice was, unfortunately, familiar to Wooyoung. _Lieutenant Simmons._ _Who's he cornered now?_ A ball of dread started to form in his stomach as he quietly edged closer, not wanting to alert the owner of the voice that he was no longer alone, giving up the element of surprise. _Yeosang's always trying to drum it in to me to think before I jump in to fights. To come up with a plan, make sure I have an advantage and then attack._ His reasoning being that Wooyoung would get hurt less that way, Wooyoung didn't see the point in going to all that extra effort just to avoid a few extra bruises if he won anyway, but Wooyoung's reckless tendencies made the slightly older boy worry. 'You're going to get yourself killed you idiot!' being Yeosang's favourite phrase to nag him with, usually accompanied by a shove on the arm. _As if I'd die that easily, he should know I'm stubborn and he's stuck with me for the foreseeable future._

"I can fix that, you know, put a smile on your pretty, pretty face…" Wooyoung, still edging nearer, could see Simmons was uncomfortably close to whoever it was, blocking them in and blocking them from sight, with one hand placed on the wall next to his victims head on the side open to the corridor. His left arm was raised and appeared to be touching the persons face. As he watched, the hand moved down. "I can make you feel-" the voice was cut off with a grunt, as the hand reached the persons groin...or attempted to, but was slapped away. Simmons let out a quiet, breathless laugh. No doubt at the thought that someone had the audacity to spurn his advances. _Rich people._ Wooyoung thought with a sneer. _Think it gives them the right to be assholes, doing or taking whatever they damn well want._

"Don't touch me" a familiar deep voice snapped, quiet but no less vehement. _Yeosangie._ Wooyoung clenched his jaw as he gave up on attempting to follow Yeosang's repeatedly nagged order in favour of just storming forward. _Sorry Yeosangie, maybe one day I'll listen to you, but today is not that day._ Wooyoung rushed forward, eyes adjusting to the gloom in the alcove enough to see Yeosang backed in to the wall, Lieutenant Simmons leering at him and keeping him blocked.

"No need to be rude, I'm just paying you a compliment" the man smirked, eyes trailing up and down Yeosangs body. "You should be grateful"

" _You_ should be grateful I don't break your fingers" Wooyoung growled, grabbing the guy by the back of his blue uniform jacket and hauling him backwards. "How many times have I got to tell you to fuck off before you finally listen? Yeosang tried being polite, I tried being polite, then I tried being less polite. Yeosang's too much of a good person to beat the shit out of you…but I'm not and I will if you don't leave him the fuck alone" Wooyoung growled in the mans ear before shoving him out in to the dim light of the hall, making him stagger with the force of it. "If I see you near him again, I'm going to make you wish you'd never laid eyes on him" Wooyoung snapped, grabbing Yeosang's wrist and tugging him away, back down the hallway and out on to the main corridor, quickly turning left.

"Woo, it's fine, besides he's a Lieutenant-"

"No Yeosang. Enough is enough. We tried being polite in the spirit of camaraderie and because he's ranked above us but that didn't work, I tried being rude and more direct…that didn't work either. No matter what we say, how we word it...he doesn't get the message. Now he's backing you in to dark corners and trying to _touch_ you, no he _did_ touch you!"

"Only my face, I hit his hand away before he could...could touch..." Wooyoung stopped him from having to complete the sentence.

"Either way, it's too much, he thinks he's above consequences because his family's rich and his daddy bought him an officers rank. People like that are dangerous Yeosang. Who knows what that asshole will do next, and if I'm not there..." Wooyoung shook his head "This ends today."

He turned his head to check Yeosang's facial expression, but the other boy inhaled deeply, nodding slightly, before sinking his teeth in to his bottom lip. He wouldn't look Wooyoung in the eye. Yeosang had always been soft spoken and quiet, but when it came to conflict of this sort….he didn't do well and it was all thanks to his father. Yeosang had learned to live quietly, carefully, when any number of little and seemingly insignificant things could set his father off and as such he'd become wary of angering other people expecting them to lash out if he did. Out at sea, facing pirates and thieves, sparring, he could hold his own but that was an entirely different situation. Violence was expected. But facing someone in what was supposed to be a relatively safe environment, especially someone with the same gleam of restrained violence in his eye as his father? That made it hard for Yeosang to put the scum in his place no matter how uncomfortable he made him. Which ordinarily would be fine, Wooyoung was usually always with him, and he had no qualms about protecting his best friend just like he always has. But Wooyoung couldn't always be there and it upset him that Yeosang's chance at a new life, a better, _safer,_ life, one where he could come out of his shell...one where he could relax, was being taken away from him and destroyed by some rich, entitled asshole.

Wooyoung would do anything for Yeosang, anything to make him happy like he'd done all those years ago when he'd become his friend. Including but not limited to, smashing that creeps face in to a pulp. _But f_ _or Yeosangie's sake, I'll do this the right way, just this once. Simmons might think he can get away with this, but I doubt the Commodore will be impressed with how he's acting because he's certainly not upholding the reputation of the Royal Navy. I should have done this when it first started, but now it's not just words..now he actually tried to lay a hand on him._

Wooyoung tugged Yeosang down the hallway, past countless doors and towards the office that their commanding officer should still be in, considering the time of day. As they approached the big wooden door, Yeosang pulled lightly on Wooyoung's grip to get his attention and slow him down.

"Woo, you should probably put your uniform jacket on before we go in there" he pointed out. _Right, yes, I should look as respectable as possible and get a hold of myself so I can make our point calmly. He'll be more likely to listen to us then._ Wooyoung knew it wasn't going to be an easy conversation, slimy as Simmons was he was ranked above them. _Not that he earned it._ Rank buying wasn't that rare of an occurrence, in fact it was rarer to actually work your way up to the rank like Wooyoung and Yeosang were in the process of doing. Most cadets were the sons of former officers or nobles. He quickly shook the jacket out from where it had been clenched in his left hand before pulling it on over the top of his white shirt and waistcoat. Yeosang sighed at the result, reaching out to tug it this way or that way until it was more presentable.

"That's probably as respectable as it's going to get with you" he teased, earning a mock outraged look from Wooyoung.

"I always look respectable Yeosangie" Yeosang simply raised an eyebrow.

"You always look like you've just come from a fight, or from someones bed, Woo. That's not what I'd called 'respectable' it's barely presentable"

"It's called being artfully dishevelled" he sniffed, letting the light hearted moment last a moment longer before breaking it.

"Ready?" he asked quietly. Yeosang took a breath, fussing with his jacket, before nodding and moving past Wooyoung to rap on the door.

"Commodore Flint?" Yeosang inquired.

"Enter" a crisp voice called back. Wooyoung squared his shoulders and pushed open the door, leading the way in to the room with Yeosang right behind him. Shelves of books and important records lined the wall immediately in front of them, fancy swords and pistols decorating the wall to the left and to the far right a desk sat with neat piles of papers on it's surface, a chest resting against it but sealed shut.

The Commodore was standing at a table in the centre of the room, his back to them, maps and papers laid out in front of him. He didn't turn around to acknowledge them, merely waited for them to speak.

"Sir." He saluted, Yeosang mirroring him at his side. "Cadets Jung and Kang-" he started before the Commodore cut him off.

"What is it?" the words were terse. Wooyoung decided to ignore the rudeness, after all the Commodore was a busy man and they _were_ just Cadets.

"We've come to you to report an incident perpetrated by a Lieutenant and recommend that Lieutenant for disciplinary action" Wooyoung said, trying to sound confident and impressive...and not at all seeing the point in beating around the bush. _Respectful and straight to the point._ He mentally patted himself on the back, Yeosang nodding his approval and if they hadn't been in their commanding officers presence he probably would have slapped him a high five.

"Do you now?" the Commodore drawled. " _You_ , a mere cadet, have come to _me_ to recommend one of your _superior officers_ for….what, exactly?" came the unimpressed response. Wooyoung swallowed. The Commodore was intimidating, not least because he still hadn't deigned to turn around from the maps and papers he was examining. But he was taller and far broader than both he and Yeosang, and he wore his authority like a physical thing, exuding power and strength. No-one dared to step a toe out of line in his presence, they followed his orders to the letter and no-one argued or talked back. His punishments were well known for being harsh no matter how small the infraction, yet effective in preventing a repeat of the offence. _Relax Wooyoung,_ _we're not the ones in the wrong here. Simmons is and once I explain what happened, he's going to wish he'd never been born when the Commodore gets his hands on him. He's breaking the Code of Conduct, and disrespecting the core values we all have drilled in to us, as if they don't exist. I suppose he doesn't think they apply to him, but he's sadly mistaken about that fact._

"Cadet Kang has been victim to unwanted sexual comments and advances bordering on harassment. What started as apparent flirting and inappropriate comments has progressed to unwanted touches. Initially we tried to speak to the Lieutenant ourselves, but despite making it known his attentions were not wanted and being asked repeatedly to desist he has continued with this disgraceful behaviour and less than 10 minutes ago he touched Cadet Kang in an inappropriate manner" Wooyoung was proud of the fact he'd managed to get all of that out in a respectful manner, and not used a single curse word. _I hope you're proud Sang._

"Disgraceful behaviour? Someone's guilty of disgraceful behaviour but I don't believe it's the Lieutenant." _Wait, what?!_ The Commodore sighed. "Simmons has already told me all about your bad attitude and refusal to bend to his authority, not to mention the disgusting lies you've taken to spreading in order to undermine him and destroy his reputation." the Commodore sniffed. Wooyoung blinked, pointing at himself, not quite sure he was understanding the Commodore's words correctly. He turned to Yeosang briefly, who looked just as baffled as he did, before turning once again to address their CO.

"My behaviour...me? I-he-" Yeosang cut him off quickly before he could form a single sentence he'd no doubt regret as his brain struggled to process the turn the conversation had taken. _What the hell is happening?_

"Sir, as the senior Officer in charge of this fort and everybody in it, it's your duty to care for your subordinates and ensure their well being, upholding the core values we're taught from our first day of basic training, the foundation of the Royal Navy, as well as the rules laid out in the Code of Conduct-" Yeosang started.

"And I do…when it's warranted. I'm well aware of the grudge you two seem to have against Simmons, Cadet Jung in particular" Wooyoung was definitely sure he was hearing things, it couldn't possibly be true that _they_ were the ones being made in to the bad guys? That Simmons was being painted the _victim_ in all of this.

 _Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming. This is a nightmare, and I'll wake up to Yeosang hitting me with his pillow for being too noisy and waking him up. Simmons is making life a misery for more men than just Yeosang, he's always lurking around, always watching and harassing Sangie and if I hadn't been there he might_ _have_...Wooyoung shook the thought away. _No matter if the one being accused is a Lieutenant or another cadet, he should be willing to hear what we have to say, he should be willing to listen and then act on what we've told him and investigate. Why won't he listen to us? Why won't he let us explain? Why won't he take us at our word like he will the Lieutenant?_

But Wooyoung knew why. Simmons was from a rich family, a family that paid handsomely for him to have the rank and authority that he does. That 'befits his station'. They would pay whatever it took to make any little problem go away. Wooyoung wasn't an idiot, he knew some officers were corrupt, taking bribes, turning their heads when crimes were committed or just using their authority to push people around. He'd thought it was just an officer or two, that the better ones among them outnumbered the worst. He'd thought the Commodore was above all that, but standing there, in this exact moment Wooyoung realised how naive and blind he'd been. Because the Commodore wasn't, he wasn't at all above the lure of money and the power it brings, that had just become painfully apparent.

 _Of course he's not, how else would the officers get away with it? I thought too few of them did it for it to come to the Commodore's attention, that they bribed and blackmailed anyone that would tell. But the Commodore is usually a reasonable if not terrifying man, and for him to completely disregard our accusations? Money really must speak more than being a decent human being. I've been an idiot...a stupid, blind, idiot. Expecting and believing the Commodore to be better? Why? Because he's an authority figure who's supposed to embody the core values they shove down our throat every damn day? Supposed to be an example to us of how to behave?_ _Supposed to be an honourable person, supposed to give a damn about his men?_ Wooyoung shook his head bitterly.

 _Our word should be enough for him to at least post Simmons elsewhere, but I was so very naive to think that we would be heard. That we'd come here, tell him everything and he'd actually do something about it. That we would matter when we have nothing. I should know better than to have faith in anyone._ A glance to the side and he made eye contact with Yeosang, his thoughts mirrored in his best friends eyes. They'd been fools.

"Sir," Wooyoung ground out, making one last attempt to make his case, "If I have a grudge against him, it's because he insists on sexually harassing Yeosang, and other victims, repeatedly no matter how many times he's told to stop!" his voice raised unintentionally towards the end but he didn't care. _How can he dismiss Yeosang's suffering like this? His pain? Is Yeosang supposed to just...endure it? Quietly, and without making a fuss? That's not how it's supposed to be, how it_ should _be. We're supposed to have respect for each other and integrity...our commanding officer the most of all of us._

"I'm afraid your word alone isn't enough to accuse a higher officer, not with the background _you_ have, in particular Jung. Perhaps if you can provide me a witness? One of these other alleged victims?" Flint trailed off. _Of course we can't, he always makes sure to get him alone when there's no-one else around….and this is why._ Simmons had covered himself well. He knew from the patronising tone of Commodores voice that no other victim would be willing to come forward either. Threatened, or bribed in to silence..or perhaps just slapped back down and reminded of their place as he and Yeosang were being. _All to protect that...that…that…_ Wooyoung clenched his fists.

"You-" but before he could vent his frustrations Yeosang latched on to his arm, tugging him backward.

"Thank you for your time, apologies for bothering you sir" he said quietly, always the more level headed of the two. "Let's go Woo" he murmured.

"But-" Yeosang just shook his head, pulling Wooyoung back out of the door and back in to the hallway, shutting the door quietly behind them.

"How are you so calm right now? How are you just walking away?! How are you not _furious_ " Wooyoung hissed.

"You think I'm not? I'm the one who's the victim Woo. But you're angry enough for the both of us and one of us needs to keep a level head so we don't end up being court martialled." he hissed back before sighing. "It's just...it's not worth it Woo. This is just how things are, it's how they always are. We don't have the money or the power to matter so we're expected to just put up with however they decide to treat us and keep quiet. We can't prove anything and he's not going to believe a word we say, he'll believe whatever comes out of Simmons mouth and cover for him because his rich family pay him to." Wooyoung exploded, whirling round and punching the wall.

"He's making it seem like we have a grudge against the bastard for no reason at all, like we're the ones harassing him?! And he's doing us a favour by not pulling us up on it! What if something worse happens next time Yeosang?! He just keeps escalating further and further and…and….that bastard didn't even bother to turn around. Wouldn't even look you in the eye when he told you he wasn't going to do a damn thing"

"Wooyoung, it's okay."

"No it's not!"

"We're shipping out in a few days to help escort that merchant ship for the Trading Company. In a few days we'll be away from him for months. We can figure something out for when we get back and until then….I've got you as my personal bodyguard"

"I can't be with you every minute of the day but that's not the point, you shouldn't have to think like that. We left that town to have freedom…so you could be _safe._ So you could finally live like a normal person not this" Yeosang sighed and pulled Wooyoung in to a quick hug.

"We'll figure something out, but right now….you owe me a game of cards" Yeosang poked him in the chest with a smirk. _He would smirk…he cleaned me out last time and we won't get paid for another few weeks…if I play cards with him now he'll take me for all I'm worth. I just don't understand why I always lose…I'm good at everything._ Wooyoung pouted.

"I'll leave you with a couple of silvers, don't worry" Yeosang laughed, turning to head back in the direction of their room. Wooyoung knew Yeosang was trying to distract him...distract the both of them and he allowed it. For now. _At least he's smiling again….I suppose I can sacrifice the contents of my purse for that._

* * *

As the pair headed away from the office, they didn't notice the slightly smaller man leaning casually against the wall to the other side of the door, slightly in shadow. Hongjoong tipped his hat back, watching the pair make their way along the corridor towards the cadet rooms. He'd come to make a report on the supplying progress for one of their ships that was due to leave port. He'd been about to knock and announce himself when the voices coming from inside the room had made him pause.

 _I wish I could say I'm surprised, unfortunately I'm just disappointed instead but what's new in this place. Willingly overlooking a sexual predator in your own ranks Flint? That's low even for you. The Navy crow about how your commanding Officer is like a father or a brother to you, there to help you and guide you and watch your back but the moment a problem pops up that they either don't feel like dealing with, or more accurately...that they've been paid to ignore…they suddenly forget all about that. Even if that boy's giving this Simmons guy a hard time…he should be wondering why. Wondering why a cadet with everything to lose would go after a Lieutenant._ Should do...but didn't and the reason why was obvious to someone like Hongjoong, who'd been in the Officers ranks for long enough to know what goes on even if he can't do a damn thing about it, other than try to be better than his peers.

_He's been paid by Simmons rich daddy to sweep any problems under the rug that would tarnish his name and reputation. Pathetic. That's not what a commanding officer should be, a commanding officer should give a damn about his men, the ones he wants to send out in to the line of fire. The ones he expects to follow his commands loyally. And he should damn well have_ _the decency to look the kid in the eye when he tells him that he's not going to a damn thing about it. That he's going to look the other way and ignore the problem. When he tells them that they're on their own and to just...put up with it. Makes it clear that he doesn't care._

_Even the pirates are better than that, if this were a pirate ship Simmons would have been swinging from the yardarm before that cadet had finished accusing him...or at least missing something important to him. Equal votes on important matters rather than just mindlessly taking orders, equal sharing of wealth and death for anyone who even thinks about violating someone against their will. A Code that's actually upheld and that everyone is held to. Yet the pirates are the ones we're supposed to hunt down for being immoral and breaking the law. For being a blight on society? When the people are who supposed to be the 'good guys' happily take bribes to ignore any problem they don't like and extort money from the people._

_Remind me again why I decided to be a Naval Captain rather than running away to be a pirate? Captain Kim Hongjoong, youngest Naval Captain in history, shooting up the ranks by being a good boy, following orders, never making waves, never having an opinion unless expressly ordered to do so. Finally makes Captain, expecting things to be better, expecting to be able to do some good and….the same rigid rules, the same stifling atmosphere, the same assholes abusing their power on the powerless and the same bloody fancy jacket._ He tugged the offending jacket in distaste. Glaring at the deep blue material, gold buttons and gold trim glinting in the dim light.

Sometimes he struggled to remember why it was he chose this life. He didn't have to. He'd been an orphan but he hadn't been unhappy. He'd liked the orphanage well enough, there were other kids to play with, to be his family...his siblings. He missed that. He missed having brothers to laugh and joke with, to take care of and be taken care of by. The life of a Navy Captain was cold, and lonely, especially if you weren't prone to bribes. When he was old enough to leave the orphanage he could have turned pirate, lots of them did. Or fell in to other unscrupulous lines of work, it didn't make them bad people. They were just trying to survive. But he'd wanted to be better, he'd wanted to make a name for himself and make the unknown parents who'd abandoned him regret that decision. Show them that he was worth it...that he was worth more than being abandoned and left to die. That he had deserved to have a parents love and care. That he'd deserved to be given a chance at life. And he'd achieved what he set out to do, but he couldn't help but wonder if he'd made the right choice. If he wouldn't have been happier on a pirate ship, causing chaos around the Caribbean with crew that were loyal and as honest as you could expect from a pirate. He was damn sure a pirate was more loyal and honest than any of his fellow officers here.

Hongjoong heaved a sigh, glancing back towards the retreating figures of the boys. Something about them called to him, perhaps it was the friendship...the sibling bond between the two of them that made him ache for his adopted siblings from the orphanage. Or maybe it was the sense that they were similar to him...that they'd come from a similar place, similar roots. But something about them made Hongjoong want to take them under his wing, and try to shield them from becoming as jaded and bitter as he was the longer he stayed in this job.

 _Sounds like they're due to be under my command on the next voyage, so I guess I'll have to keep an eye on them._ He thought, watching them until they disappeared around a corner.

* * *

The next morning Hongjoong was heading out to the docks to supervise the continued supplying of his ship for the upcoming assignment when he spotted a familiar head of brown hair, the sunlight gleaming off it, as he hurried across the square in his direction, no doubt intending to head back to his room. Hongjoong paused in the shadows of the arched doorway, about to exit in to the square himself and head towards the gates. _That's one of the boys from yesterday…the one being harassed by that Lieutenant. I thought he was going to be sticking close to his friend, why's he out here alone?_

Hongjoong watched the boys progress curiously, he was clutching something in a bag to his chest, _probably food by the looks of it. I'd make the most of fresh food as well if I were you, before we're all stuck on a ship eating rations._ He chuckled slightly. _Well your friend might not be able to keep an eye on you every minute of the day, but I think I can cover this shift._ He turned his gaze back towards the boy, and he glanced around the square casually, his eyes snagging on the doorway to one of the guard rooms. Hongjoong narrowed his eyes, watching as a man sidled out of the door and started to slowly follow behind the cadet. _Ah, that would the Lieutenant, I presume._ Hongjoong glanced around him, but it was too early for most to be up unless they _had_ to be, meaning the hallways in this area were quiet. After making sure Yeosang was nearly to the doorway, Hongjoong shrank back and headed for the branch of hallways directly in front of it. He ducked in to the first hallway on the left, the one that not only lead to the mess hall but had a nice, shadowy stairwell that led down to where they kept their food stores, and he waited. Moments later, Yeosang hurried past clutching- _fresh pastries, if my nose is correct. Excellent choice._ The other boy was so focused on rushing the pastries back to his friend while they were still warm, that he clearly hadn't noticed the danger getting closer and closer.

Hongjoong smiled to himself, leaning casually against the wall as he waited. The Lieutenant's hurried footsteps followed not long after the cadet, catching up but not yet giving away his presence to the younger boy as he tried to make them as silent as possible. _I'm sure his plan is to rush up behind him and pull him off to the side now they're inside and away from prying eyes, or so he thinks._ Hongjoong listened to the muffled footsteps get closer and closer, and when he drew level with Hongjoong's hiding place he pounced. He grabbed the mans arm pulling him in to the hall, then quickly shoving him in to the entrance to the stairwell. Before the man could realise what had happened, Hongjoong had his sword millimetres from the mans neck.

"What the fu-" came the delayed response.

"You must be Simmons" Hongjoong drawled.

"Who the hell are you?!" Simmons spat. "Don't you know who I am, I'm a Lieutenant!"

"And don't _you_ know it's rude to stalk people?" Hongjoong asked, casually, moving slightly to allow for some light from the nearest torch.

"Stalking? How dare you" the man started to fuss with his jacket, "I'm a Lieutenant you can't just accuse-" he stopped abruptly as he looked up. Eyes catching first on Hongjoong's uniform, and then on his face.

"Captain Kim…..I apologise I didn't know it was you"

"You know me? Fantastic. Now that the awkward introductions are out of the way…." Hongjoong adjusted his grip on his sword, allowing him to keep the blade at the mans throat while leaning in conspiratorially. "I know _all_ about you Simmons. Although I can't say any of it was flattering, sadly."

"W-w-what do you mean?" Simmons swallowed.

"I mean, I know all about your nasty little tendencies and I don't particularly like people who try to force their attentions on others. When your advances are rejected you turn around and you walk away like a civilised human being. You don't continue making inappropriate comments, making them feel uncomfortable in the process, and you certainly don't stalk them or have the audacity to lay a hand on them. Do you need me to explain to you what the words ' _no'_ and _'fuck off'_ mean?" Hongjoong paused expectantly. Simmons vigorously shook his head. "Then you're going to have to help me here Simmons. If you know what the words mean, then why is the message not sinking in? It's not foreplay, Simmons, when someone tells you no you stop. When someone tells you to fuck off...off you fuck. Which part are you having trouble understanding, hmm?"

"N...N...I-" Hongjoong imitated him before sighing.

"Perhaps...Wooyoung, was it? Was being too polite. It's to be expected after all, you are higher ranked than him but I don't have that problem because I outrank you, so let me put this in a way that you can understand" Hongjoong leaned in even further as he hissed. "He's not interested in a pathetic, scumbag like you. He wants nothing to do with you. He doesn't want you to flirt with him, he doesn't want to hear what you have to say or think about him. He doesn't want you breathing the same air as him let alone touching him. Understand?"

"Y-y-yes" he stammered.

"See, you don't sound too sure, so let me clarify further. Don't flirt with him. Keep your disgusting thoughts and comments to yourself. Don't look at him. Don't touch him. If he walks in to a room, you leave it. If I find out you've been anywhere near the boy, if I see you so much as glance in his direction, let alone lay a finger on him? I'll remove your favourite appendage" Hongjoong glanced down briefly to make sure they were on the same page, "right before I have you locked in one of the deepest cells below, that's so dark and far underground that everyone will forget you even exist. Do you understand me?"

"I…I understand Sir"

"Wonderful" Hongjoong smiled pulling his sword back from the mans neck and sheathing it before stepping back slightly and patting him unnecessarily hard on the shoulder. "Have a nice day"

Hongjoong watched as Simmons scrambled to get away from him, rushing back the way he'd come. _Nothing like a little bit of light threatening to start off the day._

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I post updates/general rambling at @writingaria on twitter!
> 
> I also have a CC now too if you want to ask me anything! https://curiouscat.me/writingaria


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That time Yeosang told Wooyoung he has big scoundrel energy. 
> 
> ....and also...shit hits the fan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for sexual assault in this chapter, just getting that out there first. 
> 
> I'm going to be honest, I actually broke my own heart with this chapter, and may or may not have cried a little writing it!  
> But on the plus side, I swear this chapter is the last one with all the angst/sad/dark stuff...after this chapter it's gonna get funner! 
> 
> I'm also having a dilemma if anyone wants to weigh in...I had planned Seongsang but now I'm swerving to Seongjoong, if anyone has an opinion let me know :') 
> 
> I hope this is going okay, I was surprised so many of you read it and commented <3

Wooyoung and Yeosang had managed to get through the next couple of days without incident even if the former was stewing in his anger, by sticking together and making sure Yeosang didn't go anywhere alone. Although Yeosang had ignored the new rule almost immediately when he ventured out the morning after the incident, by himself, to get them a 'much needed' treat for breakfast. Practically giving Wooyoung a heart attack in the process when he woke up to find him gone, but thankfully nothing happened. Other than Wooyoung practically gluing himself to Yeosang's side. Where the older boy went, so did Wooyoung, barely a step behind at all times when he wasn't outright clinging to his friend.

However Wooyoung was sure he felt eyes on him a few times throughout their remaining days at the Fort, starting from the day they'd walked away from the Commodore's office, disappointed, disenchanted with a nice dose of bitterness, but still trying to keep a smile on their faces and look for the positives in their situation. Namely that very soon, they'd be on a ship sailing _far_ away from this God forsaken place and the scumbags in it. A thought Wooyoung had never thought that he would have. Of course Wooyoung never saw anyone whenever he looked for who might be watching them, so he couldn't tell if it was Simmons or someone else.

 _Although I suppose if it was Simmons he'd want us to know he was watching us, which means it's likely someone else...but who? Whatever, I don't care as long as they don't try and mess with us._ They made the most of their remaining time on land while they could, as they were about to be on a ship for months which sounded a lot more exciting in theory than it was likely to be in reality. While it was exciting when you first set out, endless possibilities for adventure running through your mind, looking forward to seeing new sights, and new places. The anticipation of perhaps coming across a pirate ship and an engaging in a battle on the high seas. It wasn't long before that excitement started to dim. The nice, fresh and very perishable food was soon gone, leaving weeks of rations and hard, dry biscuits. Seeing the same faces every day, having the same conversations and seeing the same endless, blue ocean waves, the sun glittering off of it. What had once been exciting...seeing dolphins and schools of fish...soon became mundane. _There's only so many times you can have the "oh look a dolphin" "no that's a porpoise" debate turned argument in one day._ When seeing such creatures became a regular occurrence it took some of the magic away. Sure, it was fun pointing out this turtle, or that bright coloured fish the first few days but by the time the journey had started to head in to weeks no-one really cared anymore. Wooyoung's main issue of course being the endless days of...nothing. No pirate sightings. No signs of general criminal activity to put a halt to...just the sea. _Of course if we come across a pirate ship on this journey I'm half tempted to join them. Really, how much worse can they be?_

In any case, they made sure to eat as much of their favourite foods as they could for breakfast, lunch and dinner, often heading in to town to buy their favourite treats. They wandered the beach, enjoying the feel of the sand under their toes, wading in the warm shallows among the colourful fish and scouring the rock pools for starfish and other sea life. Perhaps an odd choice considering they were about to spend a lot of time with the sea, but you couldn't just go for a swim whenever you felt like it on assignment and you definitely couldn't spend time swimming with the fish, and petting sea turtles. It didn't send the correct message when it came to the Royal Navy. _Keepers of the peace on the high seas, upholders of order...and petter of cute sea creatures, doesn't exactly strike fear in to the hearts of the pirates._

Wooyoung flirted as much as he could before he was deprived of the opportunity for a long period of time, _there's nothing fun whatsoever about flirting with the sailors…especially when it gets past the three week mark and they decide personal hygiene isn't that important anymore. Besides, there's nothing more awkward than a romance gone wrong when you're stuck on a ship with them for months with no way to avoid them unless you want to just plunge in to the sea and drown in order to avoid the embarrassment._ In his professional opinion, there was truly nothing worse than a romance at sea.

Yeosang meanwhile was stocking up on one or two new books to keep himself occupied in the little free time they would have aboard ship.

"Why on earth would you want to read a medical textbook for….fun?" Wooyoung couldn't contain his look of absolute disgust.

"Because, I happen to be friends with someone who punches first and asks questions later, therefore constantly ending up in brawls." Wooyoung puffed up proudly. " _And_ who also can't seem to go a day on shore leave without flirting with someone." Yeosang paused, " _Without_ bothering to check if they're available. I've lost count of the amount of times I've had to help you hide, or pulled you out of an encounter with an angry husband-"

"Or wife" Wooyoung chimed in with a self satisfied smirk, nudging Yeosang's arm conspiratorially.

"There wasn't a single compliment in that sentence" came the dry response accompanied by an eye roll.

"There's just so many places, and so many people Yeosangie. Why limit myself? Why _deprive_ myself? Besides, there's enough Woo love to go around" came the smug response as Yeosang made a disgusted face with a noise to match. "Life's not like your books 'Sangie, you're not going to just happen to stumble across your soulmate, with them falling in to your arms...you have to actually _look_ "

"There's a difference between looking for your soul mate and flirting with anything that moves or breathes"

"...it's _practice._ So that when I find my special person, they won't be able to resist"

"Oh I think they'll be able to resist just fine. Has it ever occurred to you that they'll resist on the principle you come across like a scoundrel?" Yeosang asked, innocently.

"...you're such a buzzkill Yeosang." Wooyoung just rolled his eyes, happy that Yeosang was happy, teasing him, joking with him and practically care free. Of course it couldn't last.

* * *

They were in the middle of packing away everything they'd be taking with them, which meant pretty much everything they owned when Wooyoung realised he hadn't collected his spare uniform from the laundry. It had completely slipped his mind in the midst of trying to look out for Yeosang, and their action packed days of activity before they were confined to one space.

"How could you forget something like that Woo? Were you planning to wear one uniform for the next four months?!" Yeosang wrinkled his nose.

"No….I meant to pick it up when we came it's just-"

"It's just the good looking guard you like to look at was on duty and you got distracted." Yeosang finished for him with a fond eye roll.

"I can't help it" Wooyoung whined, "He's just so pretty, it's not fair" Wooyoung had his eye on this particular guard for a while, engaging in a flirtship with him for the past few weeks. Wooyoung had yet to make a more solid move because if something went wrong it had the capacity to make things...awkward. He kept strictly to the rule of not shitting where you eat, as it were. Which meant doing nothing more than some light flirting with anyone he was likely to have to see regularly. He wanted to believe in the 'one true love' spiel from Yeosang's books, but after all he'd experienced? He didn't expect the people who professed to love you to stick around long, they'd inevitably tire of you and move on to the next thing leaving you broken and damaged and having to pick up the pieces. It had taken Wooyoung a long time to stop expecting to wake up and find Yeosang had left him, abandoned him like his parents had. Yeosang was the one person Wooyoung knew would never leave him, as for everyone else? He expected the worst when it came to supposed love and caring. So he harmlessly flirted, and if he wanted more, then he made sure to pick people who didn't want any attachments or that he would never see again in order to protect himself. _But pretty guard is just...so pretty._

"And I'm sure he was so impressed with the way you confidently swaggered past…in the wrong direction." Yeosang stated. Wooyoung winced. "Before realising you were going the wrong way and hastily half walking half running right back past him. Very smooth Woo" he laughed.

"Sangiiiiiiee" Wooyoung whined, hitting him with his pillow. "It's not funny, I can't face him again. It's just as well we're going away." Wooyoung pouted.

"Don't worry Woo" he said, comfortingly, "I'm sure your sultry gaze distracted him" Yeosang spluttered in to laughter, immediately impersonating him by looking at him over his shoulder and attempting to mimick Wooyoung's patented bedroom eyes, 'come hither' gaze, head slightly tilted, biting his lip as he did so.

"You look cross eyed, I do _not_ look like that" he yelled indignantly and hit him again.

"Of course not" Yeosang's deep laugh echoed in the room. "I'm just teasing. It always works like a charm, I'm sure he was too busy admiring your backside or lost in your eyes or whatever, to realise. Last week, when you saw him as he was heading to his post, he nearly walked in to the wall he was supposed to stop and stand in front of when you looked at him like that." Yeosang confided.

"He did?" Yeosang nodded.

"I just didn't tell you because I didn't want to inflate your ego anymore" Wooyoung beamed at him. "Go get your uniform Woo, we need to finish packing so we can get an early night. I want to spend as much time in a real bed as possible" Wooyoung wholeheartedly agreed, the novelty of a hammock wore off faster each time.

So Wooyoung had left their room and hurried out and up the hallway to the laundry, where the unimpressed lady in charge, who'd clearly been waiting for him, had handed him the uniform with an arch look and a 'you'd forget your head if it wasn't attached'. Wooyoung had thanked her profusely, apologising for making her stay late and wait, clutching the bundle to his chest before heading back. He couldn't have been more than 15 minutes. 20 minutes at the most, after all he didn't have to go far. But when he got back to the room he shared with Yeosang, he knew something was wrong. Wooyoung stopped abruptly as he noticed their door was ajar, he distinctly remembered closing it tightly before he'd left, _why would Yeosang leave it ajar like that? It's not like I'd be locked out._

He was about to call out to Yeosang when a voice stopped him, freezing him in place.

"That bastard Captain Kim leaves tomorrow morning, he won't be able to do shit to me now" Simmons laughed. "Don't know how you got buddy buddy with him, but the asshole actually threatened me. _Me!_ He's got balls I'll give him that, he may be ranked higher than me but he's just a nobody. My father and the Commodore will deal with him when he gets back from whatever place has the misfortune to deal with him next." he scoffed. "I've played nicely for days now just to keep him off my back, but I don't need to anymore. I've waited long enough, you can play hard to get all you like, but I know what you really want"

"I'm not playing hard to get, I've told you, I don't wa-" Yeosang's voice was cut off and Wooyoung could hear sounds of a struggle. "STOP" Yeosang's shout jolted Wooyoung back in to action, from where he'd initially frozen in shock. Without thinking and with no idea what he was going to do or what he was facing, he rushed forward in to the room. The door flying back to hit the wall and he blinked at the scene before him. Simmons had his hand around Yeosang's throat, pinning him down on to the bed and looming over him. The latter's shirt was pulled open, and he was in the middle of trying to get one knee up in between them, while simultaneously trying to get the other mans grip off of his throat, presumably so he could shout again. Wooyoung took all of this in, but it didn't truly register and sink in until he focused on Simmons. It was then that he saw red, all logic and sense taking a dive out the window. Simmons other hand was sliding up Yeosang's thigh and his pants- _I'm going to fucking kill the bastard._

Wooyoung threw what he was holding on to the floor, and with a shout and no hesitation whatsoever, he ran at Simmons before the man had finished turning his head to look at the intruder on the scene, tackling the man off of Yeosang and on to the hard, stone floor.

"I warned you" Wooyoung shouted, fury filling his voice as he pulled his fist back "Don't say I didn't" he drove his fist in to the man's face. "I fucking warned you again…and again…but you just don't listen." Wooyoung punctuated each word with a vicious punch, " _Why_ won't you listen?! Yeosang's a fucking person, not a toy for you to play with." He felt the satisfying crunch of knuckles on flesh…and breaking bone. _Good, I got the bastards nose. It's always been crooked anyway, I'm doing him a favour and knocking it straight._

"Woo stop" Yeosang shouted. "He's a superior officer-" but Wooyoung wasn't listening, because the bastard was _laughing._

"I see now, you're jealous. Jealous because you want Yeosang too" the man cackled, blood dripping from his nose, face red and bleeding.

"You are fucking delusional you crazy-" Wooyoung was cut off with a grunt as Simmons managed to get some leverage and flip Wooyoung over on to his back. Simmons straddled him, but unlike Wooyoung, he wasn't incandescently furious so he took the time to smirk at him before aiming a casual punch. The blow bounced off of Wooyoung's cheek, snapping his head to the side and before Wooyoung could even turn back his head, Simmons had wrapped his hands around Wooyoung's neck, immediately starting to squeeze.

"I'm so sick of you getting in my way, every damn time." he hissed through gritted teeth. "As soon as I get to be alone with Yeosang, you appear like a storm cloud to ruin everything. Then you try to snitch on me to the Commodore? Who would believe you? You're nothing. Your own parents didn't even want you. But you have the audacity to try and report _me_?"

Wooyoung struggled against Simmons, his hands clawing at the mans arms, but he didn't loosen his grip. He started to hit wildly, making contact with the other mans arms but he couldn't quite reach his face or anywhere else that would cause enough damage to make him release his throat. Tears leaked out of Wooyoung's eyes as he struggled against the choking hold. _I can't...I can't leave Yeosangie alone._ But no matter how much he struggled, and clawed and hit and bucked, the other man wouldn't relinquish his grip, not when he finally had a chance to vent his frustrations on one of his biggest sources of annoyance. "You know...you might even be pretty yourself if you weren't such a-"

There was a sudden _crack_ and all Wooyoung saw was wood splinters go flying everywhere, until Simmons fell to the side momentarily stunned and revealed Yeosang holding the remains of one of their chairs. Yeosang was breathing hard, as he levelled a glare at Simmons, throwing what remained of the chair to the side, and snatching his sword up from the hook it was kept on. Wooyoung coughed, rolling on to his side as he struggled to get his breath back and get up on to his hands and knees. He sucked in big gulps of air, his throat burning. He was about to push himself to his feet when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Simmons was making a move to lunge at him and tackle him back to the ground, but before Wooyoung could react, Yeosang's sword was thrust in to the mans face, stopping inches from his eye.

"Hurt him again and I swear I'll run this straight through your eye" Yeosang said calmly, his grip on the sword steady. Wooyoung looked up at his best friend, shock mingled with pride.

"What...what happened?" he croaked, finally getting to his feet, hand held to his throat.

"I forgot to lock the door behind you, I was making sure everything was stowed away...my back was to it. I didn't even hear it open...the next thing I knew someone had grabbed me by the back of the shirt and he threw me down on to the..the bed. I didn't realise it was him until he pulled me on to my back. I...I couldn't even push him off I froze. I...he started to.."

"It's okay Yeosangie, it's okay" Wooyoung hugged him tightly. "I'm here, I got here in time."

"But you...you're going to get in trouble..because of me...because..." Wooyoung pulled back, fixing Yeosang's shirt and pulling everything back in to place with gentle touches.

"Because of you? You heard what he said 'Sangie, he said I wasn't pretty. He had the nerve to call me ugly" Wooyoung tried to lighten the mood, desperate to see Yeosang smile even if it was only a little, desperate to get the look on the other boys face gone. Yeosang obliged him, the corners of his lips quirking up briefly. "Give me that" Wooyoung motioned at the sword. Yeosang hesitated, and Wooyoung gently took it from his grip. Fingers clenching around the hilt as he crouched down next to Simmons, moving the sword to his throat.

"You...I told you what would happen if you came near Yeosang again. I might be a nobody ordinarily, but right now I'm the one with a sword against your jugular, _I'm_ the one with the power right now. I'll give you two choices, you can either disappear, and I don't care where or what excuse you come up with. Whine to daddy about how the Fort's too dark and dingy for your delicate sensibilities for all I care, just _go_ and don't come back. Or..." Wooyoung brought the sword closer. "I swear I'll kill you. I don't care what happens to me, but I swear I'll do it"

"Woo, calm down, he won't be able to talk his way out of this."

"He has so far Yeosang, he turned everything around on us, do you _really_ think they'll believe us? We're nothing to these people. They don't care as long as we do our jobs. They don't care what happens to us Yeosangie. Loyalty, respect for others, _integrity._ It's all bullshit" Wooyoung spat. "Loyalty to those who can buy it, respect for those who can afford it."

"Maybe...maybe if we go and find this Captain Kim person...maybe he'll help us. It sounded like he's already been trying he...he tried put Simmons in his place" Yeosang's expression was thoughtful. Wooyoung didn't get a chance to answer.

"What the bloody hell is going on in he-" the voice cut off. No doubt taking in the state of the room and its occupants. Wooyoung holding a blade to a Lieutenants throat. _Please don't be an officer….please don't be an officer._ Wooyoung screwed his eyes shut before forcing himself to turn his head ever so slightly to the left, just enough to take a look. _Shit._ Captain Rogerson gaped at the scene.

"This...this isn't what it looks like" Wooyoung swallowed. _Yes, it definitely doesn't look like I was about to slit the mans throat._

"He..you...what..." the Captain struggled, eyes darting from Wooyoung's face, to his sword, to the state of Lieutenant Simmons. "You...you _attacked_ a commanding officer. Threatening him or...or trying to kill him?!" he sputtered, disbelief widening the other mans eyes before his features hardened. He turned to the men now crowding the doorway. "Where are the guards? Get them. NOW" Rogerson pulled out his own sword, pointing it at Wooyoung, the threat clear.

"You don't understand, if you just listen, he was the one attacking us. He was trying to…to…." Yeosang couldn't get the words out and his voice turned desperate. "Please, you have to listen" Captain Rogerson ignored him, not even deigning to look in his direction, his eyes trained on Wooyoung the entire time, tapping his foot impatiently until two guards finally squeezed through the crowd. They sketched quick salutes to the Captain.

"Clap him in irons and take him to the cells." he bit out. "Cadet Jung has not only attacked a Lieutenant, he's also just attempted to severely harm if not kill said Lieutenant." he barked.

"No…no wait…please _listen."_ Wooyoung tried, frustration edging his voice as he surged to his feet. Forgetting the sword was still in his hand until the Captain's eyes darted to it and he moved in to a defensive stance, ready to take an oncoming blow. Wooyoung quickly dropped it on the floor. "Please Captain Rogerson, he...he was trying to hurt Yeosang...trying to...to..." Wooyoung couldn't get the damn word out, couldn't _say_ it and speak it in to the room. In to reality. "I was protecting Yeosang, I swear...please" Wooyoung moved closer to the Captain, silently begging him to understand. With a curt nod, Rogerson sent the guards surging towards him. Wooyoung tried to resist but the loss of adrenalin and the hopelessness of the situation had robbed him of any energy he'd had.

"You don't...understand...please let me explain" he whispered. The guards grabbed his arms roughly, one of them pulling the irons from his belt. They forced his arms in front of him, then fixed the iron bands around his wrists and locking them in to place smoothly. The rattle of the chain connecting them rang in Wooyoung's ears.

"He's not a criminal, he wasn't going to...he wasn't going to hurt him"

"No, it looks like he already hurt him plenty. I assume you were going to silence him, so he couldn't seek justice for whatever happened here today? 'Keep quiet or I'll gut you like a fish' that kind of thing was it?" Rogerson sneered.

"He was protecting me you can't….do this…." Yeosang shouted, surging towards Wooyoung, but before he could get to him the guards blocked him. Wooyoung looked at Yeosang, meeting the other boys eyes. _Don't do anything stupid. Go, leave this shit hole first thing in the morning. Get on that ship, don't look back and when you make port...run._

Yeosang stared back at him and Wooyoung could read the look in his eyes. _I'm not leaving you alone. We go together. As always._ Wooyoung shook his head slightly but Yeosang ignored him.

In one quick, precise movement he lunged forward, snatching the sword from a guards belt. Yeosang had the sword unsheathed and pointed at the guard in seconds.

"Let him go. He was protecting me from Simmons, Simmons was attacking me, he was going to...he was going to _rape_ me. Cadet Jung stopped him, the sword isn't even his. It's mine. I threatened Simmons first. Told him I'd put the sword through his eye." _No no no no. You idiot. You could still get away, you could still have a chance at finding happiness. Why Yeosangie...why?_ Simmons words reverberated in his head. _Yeosang's done so much for me, and now this? This isn't going to be a simple slap on the wrist._

"Yeosangie...don't do this. I'm not worth it." Wooyoung tried. Yeosang shot him an angry look.

"Yes you are. Don't let that prick get in your head Woo. You _are_ worth it. Because you're my brother, and where you go, _I_ go. We promised we wouldn't leave each other behind, remember?" he did. Not long after Yeosang's mother had died, they'd sworn they'd always be there for each other, always by the other's side. Wooyoung had wanted Yeosang to know that he'd always have him at a time when everything was changing and his world had been shattered, and Yeosang wanted Wooyoung to know that he wasn't going to abandon him. Leave him behind and forget about him. Sealing the promise with blood. _This is all my fault...I should have...I should have just pushed him off and then gotten Yeosang away. We could have figured out what to do. We could have gone to Captain Kim for help but...I did what I always do. I just jumped in without thinking like an_ idiot. _And now...now who knows what'll happen to us. I did this._

"You heard him, clap him in irons too" Wooyoung closed his eyes as the guards reached for Yeosang. A tear sliding down his cheek as he sucked his lower lip in to his mouth, teeth sinking in to it _hard._ He heard the sword clatter to the ground, the rattle of the chain as Yeosang's own pair of irons made a home on his wrists. _Why? What did we do wrong? We protected each other...defended ourselves. Why is that wrong?_ Wooyoung thought, despair gripping him. Because he knew they wouldn't be able to just explain what happened and then go on their way. He knew Simmons would be believed because his father would _pay_ for him to be believed and he and Yeosang would be left to rot in a cell, or if they were lucky they'd have an appointment with a firing squad at dawn.

 _This isn't right...this isn't fair. Simmons isn't the victim here._ Simmons himself had been cowering against the wall right up until Wooyoung had been clapped in irons, then he'd finally crawled away, slinking behind Captain Rogerson where he was currently being fussed over by the doctor who'd arrived, no doubt summoned by one of the cadets gawping at the scene. _The evidence is right here, that we're telling the truth or at least there's enough to bring doubt...but they'll twist it and they'll be able to because I lost my temper and couldn't stop myself and they don't care about two cadets with no money, no connections and no family. The Royal Navy is supposed to protect people, supposed to be honourable. But all the officers care about is money and power._

Wooyoung felt a tug on his arm as he was dragged forward by one guard, the other guard towing Yeosang along. Yeosang who met his eyes and had the nerve to smile.

"It's alright as long as we're together, right Woo?" he whispered, echoing their old motto. The one they told each other whenever things got shitty and they needed to look for a silver lining. _It doesn't matter what happens, it doesn't matter where we go...as long as we're together._

"We didn't do anything wrong" Wooyoung murmured to himself. Well aware that no-one in the room aside from Yeosang would pay any bit of attention to him.

"Didn't do anything wrong?" Rogerson spat. "You were holding Lieutenant Simmons at sword point, threatening him, possibly about to kill him after beating him black and blue and then you resisted arrest. _He,"_ the Captain gestured at Yeosang. "Not only admitted to threatening serious harm to the Lieutenant, but had the nerve to not only appropriate a guards weapon but to threaten with it" Wooyoung let out a quiet laugh of disbelief, surprising himself, but once he'd started he couldn't stop the quiet chuckles. It was just so _funny._ They where cadets of the Royal Navy, the good guys, charged with protecting the vulnerable, upholding law and order. They'd done just that and now here they were, clapped in irons and being dragged off to a jail cell, while the real criminal acted the victim. Who'd carry on with his life with no repercussions. _This is some kind of shitty joke, it really is._

Wooyoung inhaled sharply through his nose, biting his lip and looking up as his quiet laughter attempted to turn itself to tears. He pressed his lips together tightly, holding it in. Yeosang wasn't crying like a baby and he had every reason to, so Wooyoung wouldn't break either.

* * *

Hongjoong had been minding his own business, strolling back from a long and repetitive day of, "put that there and that over there…no not there you moron to the left. No, _your_ left, fucking hell" as he'd made sure everything was squared away for when they set sail in the morning. _Thank God, I'd forgotten how much of a shit hole this place is._ Out on the waves it was easy to forget the Fort, and the bribes and the general corruption and shittiness that festered inside it. _With the wind from the endless horizon filling the sails, the warmth of the sun on the ocean's waves making them sparkle, the long journey to a new and exciting destination..it's all enough to kill the cynicism in my heart and wash away the darkness that shrouds this place. It's enough to get my heart beating again because out there I finally feel alive._

Of course, assignments didn't last forever, and inevitably he'd have to return and be faced with the cold, hard truth of what the Royal Navy really was and it got harder and harder to do every single time. As time passed, he'd been able to ignore it less and less the more he'd found out. Initially, he'd been like those cadets. Blindly believing in everything the Navy fed him, but he'd hear something here or there. Rumours, both from his fellow cadets and from whispers in Port Royal, and it got harder to ignore. As he'd climbed the ranks to Captain he'd seen the evidence for himself, but despite his rank he couldn't do a thing. And so he was stuck, because he lived for the sea and the sun and adventure...but he loathed what he was apart of. _Maybe I'll just snap, eventually, go out on a voyage, maroon the blindly loyal idiots that would lick the Commodore's boots if he asked, and turn pirate. Go wherever the hell I want, whenever I want. Wear something less stifling, less stiff...less damn ugly. Who needs this much embroidery on a jacket? What's it for? It won't stop me drowning at sea, in fact it would probably assist with how damn heavy it makes this thing. It's not siren proof either, and I'm sure sea monsters don't care what it tastes like so what's the point of it? Just once I'd like to wear something I can breathe in._ How he loathed that jacket, although it wasn't entirely because of how it looked, it was more what it represented. It appeared as one thing, a beautiful, fancy jacket, the height of class, but in reality it wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Much like his employers.

He still remembered how excited he'd been to join the Navy, make a name for himself...and he did. He clawed his way up the ranks faster than anyone had before until he was the youngest Naval captain in history. But the price of that had been the truth. The shine wearing off, the cracks starting to show. The darkness in the corners, and the dirt swept under the rug. Ever since the Fort had become an oppressive place to him, a place to get away from and he did just that every chance he got. He'd take on any assignment, no matter how crappy. Anything to spend as little time as possible in Fort Charles. Maybe some of his comrades _did_ protect the people, maybe some of them really were the heroes the Navy claimed to be. But most of them? They used their power to get away with whatever they wanted, namely acquiring more power by grinding other peoples faces in to the dirt. Hongjoong was sick of it, but he was still stuck here. Unwilling to stay and unwilling to go.

Recently he'd started to wonder more and more if he was even on the right side. They protected shipments from the pirates, hunted them down like dogs, branding them and ultimately hanging them. Their heads strung up as a warning to others of their ilk. But did they really deserve it? Some maybe, some were every bit as vicious and cruel as the Navy claimed. But definitely not all, he'd seen that himself before. Seen it in a Captain buying time for the rest of his crew to get away. A first mate shielding a young child from danger and sacrificing his chance to get away in the process. Pirates refusing to give up other pirates, having each others backs. _At least they have a code they actually stick to. There's more honour among pirates than there is among the damn navy, who'd have thought._

He was jerked from his thoughts by a rush of activity in the square he'd just wandered in to, people running towards and out of the arched doors on the right leading to the branch of hallways that housed the cadets, in all directions, stopping to chatter excitedly with each other. He grabbed a young kitchen boy rushing past him from the direction of the cadets rooms by the back, grabbing a fistful of his jacket and hauling him backwards.

"What's going on?"

"Fight...in the cadets dorms. Two of 'em...they attacked a _Lieutenant._ Beat 'im bloody from the sounds of it and then one of 'em threatened 'im with a sword!" He rushed out excitedly. "Held it right up against his throat he did, would have slit 'im right open with no hesitation 'cept Rogerson finally burst in. People complained about the noise, but no-one had the balls to go in so they ran to get 'im." Hongjoong could think of only two people who had an ongoing issue with a Lieutenant...one of whom definitely had the temperament to do something about it.

_Oh no. You have got to be kidding me. We were this close to sailing away from this shit hole without any major incidents and they….no not they. Him. That prick. He must have done something. Provoked Wooyoung, and to provoke Wooyoung he must have done something to Yeosang. Do my threats mean nothing to these people anymore? Am I a joke to them?_

Hongjoong pinched the bridge of his nose, in irritation. The kid was still babbling. "Then, one of 'em starts to resist arrest, saying all this about protecting his friend but they managed to wrestle blondie in to irons, don't you worry. But _then_ the other one pulled a sword from a guard and _threatened_ 'im and said _he's_ the one what threatened the Lieutenant in the first place. Said he'd put a sword through his eye cause the Lieutenant tried to rape him. Wouldn't stop shouting to let blondie go. Trying to say _they're_ the victims when anyone with eyes can see it's bollocks. He's got balls yelling at Rogerson when they were caught red handed. Anyway, blondie started laughing, I think he's a bit cracked personally, cause what's there to laugh at? Fucking nutter." Hongjoong's eyes had widened and the kid must have noticed because Hongjoong felt a comforting pat on the arm.

"Don't worry Captain, they've been dragged to the cells. Apparently they've been a problem for a while, figure they probably planned this thinking they'd get away with it cause they're sailing out tomorrow. Shoulda been quieter then shouldn't they?" the kid laughed. Hongjoong resisted the urge to punch a fourteen year old, who probably didn't know any better, in the face. He made himself unclench his hand from the boys jacket, one finger at a time.

"Go" he bit out the word and the kid happily ran off to spread his story, well, everywhere no doubt. _Whatever happened,_ _Rogerson won't listen to a word they have to say, self righteous prick that he is. The Commodore has already made his stance obvious….Simmons family gold speaks more than anything else around here. He'll take his side, and let this narrative the kid shouted about run wild. No matter if it's true or not, and knowing what I do about Wooyoung he might have threatened the scum all he liked but I don't think he truly would have killed him, no matter how much he may have wanted to judging from what the kid said._ _No doubt he'll accuse them of attempted murder, Simmons will spin some sort of sob story to back it up and those two'll find themselves facing down a firing squad at dawn. They won't even bother holding the trial, not with all the 'evidence' and 'witnesses' they have._

Hongjoong stared contemplatively at the sky, as the setting sun lit it up a deep purple, burnt oranges bleeding through. He'd had put up with a lot throughout the course of his career so far, and he'd seen a lot he wishes he hadn't. Wishes he could have done something about. He helped people when he could, but he wasn't all powerful, his power was limited. He did the best he could, like he'd done for the two cadets. Silently watching their back to make sure his threat had done it's job but he hadn't been able to do more than that no matter how much he wanted to. He hadn't been able to get Simmons punished. He hadn't been able to get the Commodore to listen to him when he'd tried to plead their case hours after warning Simmons away from Yeosang. He hadn't even been able to scare that scum off for long. He was tired. So very tired of constantly seeing people ground back down in to their 'place', beaten down again and again.

_As much as I hate this place, and everything it stands for I've been unwilling to leave. I kept telling myself I'd go after the next assignment, coming up with grand plans for what I'd do. But I still stayed, still kept coming back here and whining about how shitty everything is but doing nothing to leave it all behind. Perhaps something was keeping me in place, keeping me here until it was the right time to leave...and I have a feeling that time is now. Enough's enough. I can't let them destroy two boys lives for just trying to protect each other when the people who should have, didn't care enough to._

Hongjoong's eyes caught on the wall directly across from him, eyes drifting along to its right corner. The corner of his mouth lifted up in to a smirk as a plan started to take shape in his mind.

_If I'm going to do this….why not go all out? No slipping away quietly in to the night. Let's go full reckless pirate._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I post updates/general rambling at @writingaria on twitter!
> 
> I also have a CC now too if you want to ask me anything! https://curiouscat.me/writingaria


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel bad that I didn't have time to update this sooner so rather than waiting another day or two to update this because I just posted an update for my other WooSan fic...I figured I'd just do both! And yes the chapter count for this did just go up because I talk too much :( 
> 
> Also, Hongjoong's hair...I used a still from the Illusion MV as reference because I liked the hair style and the colour, and the way I've described it is the closest way to describe it I could think of :')

_Clang._ The metallic sound reverberated throughout the row of cells in the dank, dingy prison as Wooyoung and San were locked inside the last place they thought they'd ever end up. A cell. Despite being called the 'Fort Charles Prison' in reality it was just a long row of cells under the Fort. The north wall, directly in front of the gate, was perched on top with the sea at it's back. There were rooms for guards on duty to rest in, and down some narrow stone steps brought you to the cells. Thanks to the location, it was dark and dank with only a few torches here and there to illuminate little pools of light along the hall. No windows to let in the moonlight, and a chill permeated the air, no doubt thanks to how damp the cells were. Of course this was just the first level of cells, there was another deeper underground and the people who went down there rarely came back out. _At least we're in the upper level of cells...if we were in the next level down then it'd be certain that they were going to just...leave us locked up down there. We'd be lucky if they even remembered we were there. But up here...I suppose that means we'll be seeing daylight again. Even if it is right before we face down a firing squad. I'd rather die that way then slowly starving to death, forgotten underground._

Wooyoung and Yeosang had been locked in a cell together, the irons being removed before they'd been roughly shoved inside. The former hadn't bothered trying to fight the guards, he had no will to anymore. He'd merely just let them drag him out of their room, down the corridor lined with their fellow cadets all of whom were whispering, and then out in to the square. Yeosang hadn't been far behind him, and Wooyoung had kept his head down as they made their way towards the cells. Wooyoung had never actually been down to the cells before, and he wasn't exactly pleased to finally get to see what they look like. With a jangle of keys, and a cheery whistle, their guards wandered away from their cell and up to the more hospitable level above, leaving Wooyoung and Yeosang in the gloom.

Wooyoung slid down the wall until he was sitting on the damp, straw strewn floor with one leg bent and his elbow resting on it. He stared at a nondescript spot on the floor, trying to comprehend how this had happened. How they ended up _here._ _We were supposed to be asleep right now...and then in the morning we'd be far away from this place. Now we'll probably never leave...at least not alive._ Yeosang sank down next to him, knees up to his chest, and arms hugging them tightly. Their jackets had been taken from them, so they were left in just the thin, loose white shirts and matching white waistcoats. Nothing to ward off the chill. They sat in silence for an hour...maybe two. It was hard to tell in that place, as they processed everything that had happened, offering silent comfort to each other with no words needed. Until Wooyoung finally broke the silence.

"I'm sorry Yeosangie" Wooyoung said quietly. "This is all my fault. Getting him away from you should have been enough, I could have handled it multiple different ways that didn't end up with us in a cell like this but I just…lost control. I didn't _think,_ and now…" Yeosang put his arm around his best friend, pulling him closer to his side, Wooyoung let his head fall to rest on the other mans shoulder.

"It's not your fault Woo, it's _his._ He's the one that did...what he did. He's the one that ignored every warning he was given. He's the one that kept pushing and pushing. You did nothing wrong, Woo. You were just protecting me like always." Wooyoung was shaking his head.

"You're right about me, I just...I just act without thinking, I don't think about the consequences, or plan what to do I just jump in and usually it doesn't mean more than some bruises or a cut or two, which is fine, I can handle that. But this time...I really messed up. I should have listened all those times that you told me to strategise, to think...to make sure I have the advantage but I didn't. I just kept acting the way I always have and now you're going to pay for it too"

"Woo, stop it. First of all, we've already been over this. Where you go, I go. I'd rather be with you down here than up there with all of _them._ Second, I wouldn't change how you are for anything. Does it exasperate me? Yes. Do I always worry that you'll get hurt? Of course. But do I actually want you to change? No. Because this is just who you are, and if you're happy then I'm happy. Besides, life would be too boring without your impulsiveness." Yeosang murmured. "You're my brother Woo, you've always protected me, always looked out for me...I love you just the way you are. You saved me today Wooyoungie, thank you"

"Don't thank me yet, look where we are Yeosang" he mumbled, slightly uncomfortable with the thanks from the other. It wasn't something he needed thanks for...it was just something he did. Just part of who he was or at least part of his subconscious after all those years of his first priority being one thing. Protect Yeosang. Although he wasn't doing too great of a job at that right now.

"At least we're together, and that's all that really matters" Yeosang injected some cheer in to his voice, clearly trying to make the best out of a bad situation and make Wooyoung feel better about his monumental fuck up.

"You know what's going to happen to us, right Sangie? You heard all the whispers...the way they're spinning this story...twisting what happened and turning it around. They're making us out to be murderers, or at least would be ones. They're going to spin this any way they want because we've become a problem, become troublemakers trying to make a fuss. They're going to get rid of us...just throw us away like rubbish. It's like we're not even people to them...it's like we're just old tools that aren't useful anymore. On the plus side, we're up here rather down there so that means we get a quick death, but it's still death." his voice was bleak.

"Thank you so much for that depressing reality check Woo, not really the mood I was aiming for, if I'm being honest" came the dry response.

Before Wooyoung could reply there was a scuffle from above, and the sounds of something heavy hitting the floor. Their eyes shot to the steps in front of the cells a few to their right as footsteps echoed down, unhurried. Polished black boots appeared first, with white pants tucked in to the tops, meaning that it could be anyone. They all wore the same, after all. The boys in the cell tensed, but didn't get up just yet, wondering who'd come to torment them now.

 _If it's Simmons I may as well finish what I started earlier, they're going to kill us tomorrow anyway, who cares if I add one more charge to the list. Why not take him down with me?_ The man continued to descend, the air about him somewhat casual as he sauntered down the steps, more of him appearing in the dim torchlight, bit by bit. A long, deep blue coat with gold embroidery and white lapels over a cream and gold waistcoat and white shirt. _A Captain's coat?_ There was an officers sword slung through his belt, the fancy hilt confirming what he was seeing... _why would a Captain come and see us? Rogerson's a bastard but he's not one to gloat. Unless they're here to offer us some sort of deal..but why would they? I might have been naive enough before to think that they might let us go. Agree to keep quiet and they'd let us sail away on assignment before sending us to a different post. Problem solved. But now? There's no chance. So what are they up to?_

Wooyoung watched with bated breath as the man took one more step, feet landing on the stone of the hall floor, and face appearing out of the shadows. Wooyoung felt his eyes go wide as he took in the man's delicate features. _No way._

"Ah, I guess you must know who I am? My reputation precedes me" the man preened as he strolled up to the bars casually, a small smirk twisting his lips. His officers hat was missing, meaning his strawberry blonde hair was on full display, the hair swept neatly back from his face on one side, while the other was slightly messier with his bangs brushing his eyebrows. Wooyoung kept his eyes on the man, as he leaned slightly to the side, as close to Yeosang's ear as he could.

"Who the hell is that?" he whispered to Yeosang.

"Why do you think I know, if you don't?" The man's smile dropped.

"No-one ever told me that we actually had a _pretty_ Captain, I thought they were all ugly"

"Is now _really_ the time, Woo?"

"I'm standing right here" the man grumbled. "I prefer handsome rather than pretty, by the way." Wooyoung just blinked at him, causing the man to let out a sigh. "I'm Captain Kim Hongjoong" Wooyoung's mouth dropped open.

"You-you….you're the youngest Captain, well... _ever._ I know you!" Wooyoung couldn't hide the excitement in his voice.

"Evidently not well enough" the Captain grumbled to himself.

"I mean…I've heard of you but I've never actually _seen_ you before, how am I supposed to know what you look like?" Wooyoung defended himself.

"You're the Captain _he_ was talking about, aren't you?" Yeosang said quietly, causing the older man to look a bit sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah" he dragged the word out. "I was outside the Commodore's office that day and I heard...enough. I saw him following you the day after and had a polite word with him."

"A polite word? That's not what it sounded like" Wooyoung grumbled under his breath before turning to Yeosang. "How come threatening's polite when _he_ does it? But when I do it everyone's like "Calm down Wooyoung" and "Clap him in irons", it's not fair" Wooyoung complained.

"Because I make sure I don't get caught" Hongjoong winked. "So I can call it whatever I like. I do owe you an apology though. I thought I'd dealt with him, I thought I'd helped. I kept an eye on the two of you and he stayed away...or at least I thought he did and I figured we were safe until we left. I didn't realise I'd pushed him over the edge, I'm so sorry" the Captain's voice was sincere.

"It's not your fault, I'm sure he'd have snapped eventually. He was escalating more and more each day...it was a matter of time. But thank you. Thank you for trying to help when no-one else would. For believing us... _me_ " Yeosang said quietly.

"It's what any commanding officer _should_ have done. I couldn't stand back and let this carry on, especially when you were about to join my crew. That makes you my responsibility"

"Wait, _you're_ our new Captain?!" Wooyoung perked up.

"No, he _was_ going to be our new Captain" Yeosang gently reminded as said Captain leant closer to the bars.

"I still can be" the casual words had both boys eyes snapping to him, their full attention on him alone. Wooyoung raised an eyebrow in question. "How much do you two want to get out of here? _How much_ do you want to leave this shit hole behind, leave all the power hungry, corrupt bastards and the bullshit behind? To _really_ be free? To find the real meaning of loyalty...of honour? With no-one telling you what to do and when, no-one grinding your face in to the dirt just because they can. Because it's allegedly your _place._ " the Captain looked each of them in the eye. "How _willing_ are you to throw everything away?"

"Not that we really have much to throw away at this point, but you mean….you're talking about...escaping right? You'll help us to escape...to desert and then...what?" Wooyoung was uncertain what the man was getting at exactly. _If he helps us to escape we'll be free…but we'll have a price on our head and they'll hunt us down, or wait for us to get caught by the soldiers at one of the other ports, then we'll be right back here in this cell. Unless we can pay them off somehow? Is that what he means when he says how much? Because honestly, they've taken everything from us. We have nothing. We have even less than we did before. All we've got are our lives and after dawn tomorrow...we probably won't even have those._

"Well there's a few things you have left to throw away, your morals and your aversion to murdering people being one of them"

"What-" Wooyoung narrowed his eyes but Yeosang jumped in before he could finish forming the question.

"You're talking about us becoming fugitives, the navy doesn't look kindly on deserters, they look more favourably upon criminals than they do those that abandon their duty. We're the lowest of the low now, but if we desert...even the rats infesting these cells have more rights than us in their eyes. Doesn't seem very free to me when we'd be looking over our shoulders constantly, we wouldn't even be able to go to half the ports in the Caribbean because of the military presence and the ones that don't have one? I'm sure someone would happily turn us over for the wanted fee. " Yeosang pointed out.

"But there are plenty of other ports that wouldn't bat an eye. That would practically _welcome_ us"

"This is all _if_ we even make it off of this island" Wooyoung muttered. The Captain smirked at them.

"I'm talking boys, about _pirates._ The pirate ports won't give a damn who we are or where we came from, if there's a bounty for us they won't act on it because that's not how they work. They don't turn on their own. Once we get off of this island we can go anywhere, and do anything."

"You…..want us to run away and join the pirates?" Wooyoung frowned, turning to look at Yeosang to see what the other boy made of all of this.

"I don't see how they're a worse option than staying here and being executed or in my case continuing to align myself with the navy. There are some bad pirates but for the most part? They're not all bad and they have their own set of rules that they stick to, unlike this place."

"Somehow I don't think they'll be very welcoming to the people who fight them, kill them outright on the decks of their own ships, blow up said ships, and assist in arresting the survivors and dragging them back here to be hung." Came Yeosangs skeptical response. _He's right, we can't go to them for help. They'll take one look at the uniform and kill us without asking any questions and with no hesitation._

"No, I can't imagine they will be, although I'm sure once we've told our story they'd be a lot more forgiving. Anyone who screws with the navy is a friend in their book. But I'm not suggesting fleeing here, and hoping we come across a pirate ship so we can beg to be able to join their crew. I'm suggesting we become pirates ourselves...become our own pirate crew. They don't need to know our origins, and no-one will ask, we'll just be the latest group of sailors to have turned pirate and no-one will think twice. All we need is a ship, a crew, a burning hatred for the Royal Navy and an inability to follow the rules...I think we've got all of that covered"

"But…we don't have a ship" Wooyoung pointed out.

"And we _barely_ have a crew" Yeosang finished.

"We don't have a ship _yet."_ The Captain looked at him, mouth widening in to a slow smile. Wooyoung gazed at the man, thinking over everything he'd said. _It's not a bad idea...they welcome any who turn pirate, and if we make our own crew we can hide the fact that we're ex-navy. As far as they're aware we'd just be regular sailors, sick of being crushed under the heels of the navy and if they do find out...we'd have hopefully established ourselves enough that no-one would care. If we went to an existing pirate crew, even if they didn't kill us straight away, they'd suspect us of being spies. This way we can do what we want, we can really, genuinely be free. True the pirates care about money...but at least they're honest about it. They're honest about what they are, they don't try to hide behind manners, and honour and class. They're honest about being dishonest and there's always honour among thieves. Why not? Why the fuck not?_

Wooyoung gazed up at the Captain, maintaining eye contact as he let his mouth stretch in to it's own smile. He nodded slightly, before turning to the side to glance at Yeosang because if Yeosang wasn't in...then neither was he. Yeosang met his eyes, tilting his head to the side slightly. _Shall we? What have we really got to lose anymore?_

Wooyoung looked at Yeosang, communicating everything he needed to say with a look. _Nothing, nothing at all. So why not take this chance. Take this chance to live...to start over and to finally find happiness._

Yeosang nodded at Wooyoung, face breaking out in to a mischievous smile. _Fuck it. Now it's time to really have some fun._

Wooyoung turned back to Hongjoong. "We're in"

* * *

"I was hoping you'd say that" Hongjoong had noted the look on the younger boys faces before they'd even uttered their agreement, a feeling of satisfaction and excitement flooding through him. _I don't have to do this alone...they'll be going with me._ Because no matter what the boys had said, Hongjoong had decided to leave. He couldn't stand to remain in this place one second longer, he'd just been hoping he'd have company as he did so. Then again he didn't think he'd been wrong about the two of them, wrong to assume that they were on the same page as him now. Wrong to think that they'd take an opportunity to get away from this place, turn their backs on the navy and stick it to them by becoming everything it hated. Hongjoong produced their packs from behind his back.

When he'd come up with his plan, he'd quickly carried out a solo mission, putting things in to place and making sure everything was in order for their getaway, so they could leave as fast as possible. Of course no-one had questioned him because of his rank. He'd always told the Commodore they shouldn't be so lax here...the man should have listened to him. He also should have listened to his suggestions on storage. After putting everything in to place, he'd gathered his own things, or what little he had that held some kind of value to him.

His compass and spyglass, and his favourite map…along with a little something extra and then he'd headed over to the boys room to gather anything he thought would be of value to them, so they could leave without looking back and with no regrets. And without making a mad dash back for some sentimental item, thus ruining the grand escape he'd planned out. Their packs had been sitting where they'd left them, completely untouched. Hongjoong had simply removed the uniforms figuring they won't be needing them anymore, they'd acquire new clothes the first chance they got and the uniforms stood out too much even if they could bear to keep wearing them. Leaving one containing a couple of books including a medical text and a delicate locket with a woman's portrait inside, the other a whetstone, a fancy knife, some scent and to Hongjoong's amusement…a couple of romance books. He tossed the packs on the ground in front of the cell.

"Now then, everything's here all packed and ready to go. I'm tired of this shitty little island with its rules and corruption. I'm tired of seeing the powerless get screwed over by people with more power simply because they were born rich and privileged. How does that make them any better than us? Why does that mean they can treat us like shit? It says a lot about the state of this place that the pirates have the moral high ground at least 75% of the time. I should have done this a long time ago, I guess you two gave me the final push that I needed. I couldn't watch those assholes ruin another kids life like they've done so many times before" Hongjoong's sense of connection to the boys had grown the more he'd watched over them the past few days. He was determined to save them no matter what happened, to _protect_ them. He would take them under his wing, and he'd show them there's a better life out there, with better people than they'd experienced, because they deserved it. All three of them did. Their agreement with his plan made him more sure than ever that they were of a similar nature and Hongjoong figured it was about time life for the three of them took a turn for the better. Wooyoung snorted at him.

"You're calling _us_ kids?" Hongjoong raised an eyebrow. "From what I heard, you're only a year older than us"

"Yeah well….you seem like kids to me" and they did. Both of them still had a somewhat innocent air around them, perhaps it was Yeosangs' delicate features, or Wooyoungs'big sparkling eyes...perhaps it was the fact that compared to Hongjoong...they still hadn't seen the very worst the navy had to offer. They were less jaded than him, more carefree and playful when the occasion allowed..and Wooyoung in particular, despite his alleged flirtatious nature and outward appearance most of the time, seemed to have a childish nature to him at points. Not least because of the pouting whine he was capable of. The pull he felt towards them, the connection he felt, as if he'd found two missing pieces of himself...Hongjoong felt like they could be his brothers, or at the very least his friends.

"Why didn't you leave before? If you felt that way" Yeosang asked. Hongjoong took a moment or two to think before answering him.

"I suppose I could have deserted before, hitched a ride on a ship and gone anywhere I wanted, I had plenty of opportunities. Maybe I was scared of change, of being away from all I've known for so long..of things being different from how they've always been. There's comfort in the familiar, even if the familiar is shitty. Or maybe I was just scared of being alone, I haven't been truly alone in a long time, granted I don't exactly have friends here and I keep to myself but..I do have comrades. I've always had a crew even if I wasn't overly friendly with them. Or maybe the timing wasn't right before because now, something about this plan just feels _...right._ Besides, with you two a desperate escape and a lonely runaway becomes an adventure with…. _friends"_ Hongjoong said the final word hesitantly. The two boys looked at each other some sort of silent communication taking place between them.

"Anyone who's willing to put that scumbag Simmons in his place, willing to defend us and at least try to do what's right, is a friend of ours. I'm Wooyoung"

"And I'm Yeosang" Hongjoong already knew that, noting their names when he'd over heard their conversation outside the Commodore's office and becoming more familiar with the two of them over the past couple of days. But he didn't say that, because they were willing to put their trust in him, to go on this new journey with him no matter where they ended up and a real introduction seemed like the best way to cement this new bond in to place.

"You can call me Hongjoong" he smiled. "So…..will you join me?" he checked one last time, to make sure that this is truly what both of them wanted, that they were truly on board with this and had no regrets about it. Wooyoung and Yeosang looked at each other once more, a moment passed...then two, before both boys were nodding with no hesitation. They both jumped to their feet, walking quickly to the bars to reach the hand Hongjoong had outstretched towards them. They brought their own hands down on top of his, sealing the moment.

"Fantastic" Hongjoong removed his hand and rummaged in his pocket for a moment, before managing to locate what he was looking for. He tugged it free and held up his hand, the ring of keys for the cells dangling off of one finger. "Shall we?" he gave them a light spin, noting the look of disbelief on their faces with a sly grin.

"How did you..."

"I have my ways" Hongjoong flipped through the key ring, swiftly locating the right key and sticking it in the rusty lock. Exerting a small amount of force, he twisted the key to the left, finally managing to get the lock to click. He grabbed the bars of the door, pulling it wide open and freeing his two new crew members. The boys wasted no time, rushing forwards and out of the cell in to freedom. Remembering their packs, they lunged for them, eagerly pulling them in to their hands and opening them, presumably to check what was in there.

"Everything should be as you left it, I took them exactly as they were….minus those uniforms of course. I assume you don't want to wear them again" the boys made a noise of agreement, "We can pick up new clothes once we reach a new port, we'll just need to wear what we have on for a little while longer, unfortunately." He watched as Yeosang picked up the pack with the medical text and fiction books. _Interesting but not really all that surprising. Wooyoung doesn't seem the type to read medical texts for fun, but then looks can be deceiving._ He turned to eye Wooyoung where he was crouched on the floor, rifling through his pack.

"So _you're_ the one who reads romance books" the younger boy flushed.

"I-I-they-they're like medical texts but for…for…flirting okay. They're a _guide._ " he spluttered. "And they haven't let me down yet. They should be an official learning resource" he grumbled. Hongjoong snorted a laugh.

"They're mine, he just borrows them to look fancy in front of the ladies" Yeosang paused.

"And _gentlemen"_ Wooyoung supplied as if on cue, causing Yeosang to smile. Hongjoong held his hands up.

"I really didn't say anything"

"No, but you _thought_ it, I could tell" Wooyoung's eyes narrowed but before he could come up with a snarky reply, Yeosang interrupted them.

"Where are the guards?" he said suddenly.

"Oh, don't worry, they should still be enjoying their forced nap" Hongjoong replied cheerfully.

"You knocked out the guards?" Yeosang's face was stunned, Wooyoung on the other hand just looked at him.

"So when you said 'I have my ways', trying to be all mysterious and aloof, what you really meant was knocking out the guards and frisking them to steal the keys"

"It's not stealing, it's liberating." he wagged his finger at the younger boy. "I figured rather than sneaking past them or coming up with some plausible reason I could be visiting the two of you, I'd save some time and just deal with them first. Besides guards are gossipy _and_ nosy. This way, we could talk freely, without eavesdroppers who would no doubt have gone running straight to the Commodore within seconds. It's all about the element of surprise" he said nonchalantly, before spinning on his heel and leading the way up the rough stone steps. The guards were exactly where he'd left them, crumpled on top of each other with no signs of moving any time soon.

"I'll be taking that" Wooyoung murmured as he snatched one of the guards swords. Yeosang following his lead, testing the weight of the new blade in his hand.

"I assume we'll need to be armed for….whatever you plan next?" The latter asked him.

"I thought you'd never ask" Hongjoong felt his smile turn devilish. "We're going to hit them where it hurts them the most and then kick them in the balls for good measure"

"That...does that even make sense?" Yeosang whispered to his friend.

"Just go with it, he seems to be in his element right now" Wooyoung replied.

Hongjoong started to lead them away from the cells. Directly after coming up from the lower level, you were placed in a room that was towards the left side of the Fort. After exiting the room with the guards in, Hongjoong started to lead them carefully down the hallway to the right. Keeping to the shadows and pausing every now and again to listen for any incoming guards. Other than the guards room, this hall was mostly barren. There was another room or two, mostly for the guards to have a quick rest in when they came down from the top of the wall, or to have a nap on their break. One or two held swords, guns and gunpowder. Then they passed the door that led out in to the square and kept walking. He knew the moment the boys had figured out where they were going. Yeosang came to an abrupt halt, Wooyoung smacking in to his back.

"You can't be serious…" Yeosang got it first. Wooyoung looked from his friend to Hongjoong, taking in the direction they were headed and his mouth fell open as he caught on as well.

"No way" he gaped.

"Our first act on the road to piracy" Hongjoong paused, throwing an arm out in the direction they were heading, "….thieving." he announced grandly. "I thought I'd ease us in gently before going after the big prize" he said casually, starting to walk forward once again.

"Ease us in gently….stealing from the treasury is easing us in _gently._ This money belongs to the _King_ " Yeosang hissed.

"Only recently. This was all collected in taxes. Taxes which were unfairly raised in my opinion not that anybody ever asks. Anyway, we're stealing from the rich to give to the poor….which in this case is us seeing as how we're now unemployed." he threw up a hand halting them a short distance from the treasury, and pulling them in to a shadowy alcove that the torch light didn't reach. He peered out, eyeing the treasury door, to see the two guards from earlier still standing where he'd last seen them.

He lowered his voice to a whisper. "We're going to take what we need…what we're _owed_ , enough to make sure we can get supplies and anything else we require when we make it to the next port, and then we're going to cause some organised chaos to cover our escape, sound good?"

"Organised chaos is very...vague. I'm sure there's something you're not quite telling us yet to do with that but…I suppose" Yeosang said reluctantly.

"Don't be such a downer Sangie, this is going to be so much fun" Wooyoung said excitedly, bouncing up and down with glee. _At least he's enjoying himself._

"I'm glad you feel that way Wooyoung," Hongjoong clapped a hand on the younger mans back, "because you can be the distraction" Wooyoung's smile dropped.

"Wait, what?" Hongjoong pushed Wooyoung on the shoulder, sending him staggering out in to the open and in to the line of sight of the guards, and while they hadn't initially been looking in their direction, instead staring down the corridor directly in front of them, the commotion was enough to have them snapping their heads round to eye him suspiciously.

"Uh….um…..hello" Wooyoung waved at them awkwardly. Hongjoong watched as the guards narrowed their eyes at him. "Sorry to bother you it's just…uh, there's uh…." Wooyoung struggled, next to him Yeosang put his face in his hand shaking his head.

"I thought he was supposed to be good at this sort of thing" Hongjoong whispered.

"It's been a long day and you didn't give him a moment to think." Yeosang defended his friend. Hongjoong conceded the point. _There's been more than enough today to throw him off his game, let alone being told we're going to rob the treasury and then pushing him in to the line of fire with no preparation or warning. I probably should have let him come up with a ploy at least. Oh well, hindsight's a bitch._

Yeosang finally raised his head, squared his shoulders taking a deep breath at the same time and then-"HELP PRISON BREAK, THERE'S BEEN A PRISON BREAK. DELINQUENTS ON THE LOOSE" he shouted, prompting Wooyoung. Hongjoong was momentarily startled at the volume the usually quiet boy managed to achieve, turning his head to look at him in surprise.

"What?" Hongjoong chose not to comment on the level of noise achieved by the younger, instead focusing on something else.

"Delinquents? Really? No-one calls the prisoners that" Yeosang gave him a look that clearly said _shut up,_ swiftly followed by _this is what you get when you don't let anyone plan anything._

Hongjoong hid a smile, _to be fair to him, it does sound like something the Commodore would say, even if the rest of us aren't that pompous._ Hongjoong flicked his attention back to Wooyoung, to see if the cue had kicked him in to action finally, allowing his brain to stop the mad scramble it had no doubt been doing since Hongjoong had pushed him out there. _Yeah, I really should have let him have a minute. My mistake._

"Um, yeah…that" Wooyoung added before seeming to mentally shake himself, his demeanour changing from lost puppy to something else. "So if you _fine_ gentlemen could come and assist me….I'd be very grateful, we need as many hands as possible to re-capture them" Wooyoung said coyly, getting his equilibrium back as he sidled closer to the men. One of them looked him up and down while the other narrowed his eyes further.

"Aren't you one of the cadets that tried to kill Lieutenant Simmons?" suspicion coloured the guards tone. Wooyoung pointed to himself, eyes wide as if to say 'me?'.

"Do I look like a criminal to you?" Wooyoung said, hand on his chest, wide eyed gaze fixed firmly on the guard. Wooyoung blinked innocently for good measure, never breaking eye contact.

"Where's your uniform jacket? If you're-"

"There's a prison break going on and you're going to argue with me about the state of my uniform!?" Wooyoung feigned incredulity. "Besides, I'd have thought you knew how stuffy those things are...so what if I take it off when I'm just sitting in the guard room playing cards?"

"He has a poin-"

"Great, so if you just come with me, you can help me track them down and then we can go for a drink as a thank you…." Wooyoung slid his hand up the arm of the less suspicious guard, moving closer towards him as he did so to confide in him. "I'm just a cadet you see, I was covering for a friend as a favour so he could sneak in to town to see the girl he likes. If one of the Officers finds out, we're both fucked. I've never even been near the cells before tonight, let alone dealt with anything like this. I don't have the… _experience,"_ Wooyoung bit his lip, looking at the guard from under his lashes, "to deal with a situation like this, not like _you_ do." he pouted. "I don't know how you guards do it. Criminals are just….. _terrifying_ " Wooyoung said, right before hitting the pressure point on the back of the man's neck, the guard immediately falling to the floor in a crumple. _Oh well, at least he looked happy._ Hongjoong observed, before leaping out of the alcove as the other guard opened his mouth, no doubt to shout and raise the alarm. _I don't think so._

"Wh-" Hongjoong had the man unconscious before he could even finish the first word of his sentence. He and Wooyoung quickly grabbed the men by the arms and hauled them in to the shadows of the alcove where they hopefully wouldn't be spotted for quite some time, and would hopefully be out of the way enough for what was going to happen next.

"You know if we're supposed to be pirates…we should have killed them. It's probably more time efficient" Yeosang observed.

"While I admire your dedication to our new occupation, we've been pirates for less than hour, I think we should take things slowly. Build up to outright murder with a bit of light thievery and arson….maybe rob a few people at sword point and menace the populace a little bit. To get the hang of being piratey. These things do take time to get a feel for" he grunted as he dropped the man before dusting his hands off. Hongjoong crouched down next to the man, patting him down and wiggling his fingers in to pockets until he found the key to the treasury tucked in to the mans inner pocket.

"Right, I've found the key s-" he came to an abrupt halt as he looked up in time to see an excitable Wooyoung raise his foot up and bring his boot down squarely on the keyhole. With a crack, and splintering of wood, the door flew open. Hongjoong blinked, mouth open and key raised in one hand.

"It's called the treasury but it's really just a glorified office. The collected taxes are just in the fort for safekeeping before they get transported to the capital, and no-one would be dumb enough to break in to and try to steal from a military stronghold. You knew that right?" Hongjoong glanced at Yeosang, regaining his composure.

"Of course. Of course I knew that…I'm a _Captain."_ he tugged the lapels of his jacket. "Let's go. Money to steal, chaos to cause"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I post updates/general rambling at @writingaria on twitter!
> 
> I also have a CC now too if you want to ask me anything! https://curiouscat.me/writingaria


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Wooyoung employs....The Smoulder. And shit gets blown up woohoo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter left!! Wow, I can't believe I'm already nearly done with this first little prequel, AND I've got one more chapter to write for the NEXT little prequel...then I just need to you know...edit it and then post it! If you're wondering why it takes me so long to update when I've already written the whole thing...I write, in this case 3K words...then go back and edit when the whole things written...which has so far bumped each chapter to 6K and resulted in a fifth chapter, and then I go through it one more time to try and catch any final mistakes! 
> 
> Now I'm nearly done with the second prequel, I'm kinda worried that after this it's not as...exciting? I guess is the word I'm looking for? I hope you guys will enjoy it as much as this! I'm wondering if you all have any guesses as to which member is going to be in the next prequel...there will be a clue in the final chapter so look out for it! ;) 
> 
> As always, thank you for all of your lovely comments! They make my day and encourage me to keep on writing this because I'm like "wow people are actually reading this!" <3

Hongjoong strode through the battered door of the 'treasury' to see Wooyoung gazing around, a soft "woah" leaving his mouth as he took in the chests overflowing with coins, placed neatly on the floor and desk of the room. _I uh…expected more gold bars, and piles of money but…I suppose I let my imagination get away with me. But really, why not just call it 'the safe' or 'the money holding room'. Treasury implies certain standards that this room just does not meet._

"Hey Yeosang, how much were we supposed to get paid this month?" Wooyoung asked innocently.

"You…when I said take what we're owed I didn't mean that _literally._ Take whatever you want, I don't care" Hongjoong rolled his eyes heavenward. _For an alleged notorious flirt he's too innocent at times, like a giant, excitable puppy._ A delighted Wooyoung turned to an open chest, eyes lit up with excitement.

"I've never seen this much money before….look Yeosang it's a whole guinea!" Wooyoung said excitedly. Hongjoong looked at the chests of money thoughtfully. Port Royal was part of the British Colony despite being in the Caribbean which meant it had a rather unique money system, not least because of the different people that passed through. It used a mix of British and Spanish coins. The Marines used the British coins as did any other sailors or settlers from Britain, everyone else just used the Spanish. However, the British Crown frowned upon the use of foreign currency in its colonies so of course they valued the Spanish coins far less than their British equivalents. _Once we get away from here, we'll need to make a stop and the nearest islands to us right now, are all other British Colonies. Meaning the British coins will be of more use than the Spanish...or rather more value. We'll be able to buy more with just a few guineas than we will with any amount of doubloons. Aside from the fact it will look strange if we use doubloons, at least while we're still in these uniforms, we'll stand out as suspicious. But after that...who knows where we'll end up, and once we head in to the islands used and populated by pirates...we'll need doubloons because they have higher value there. Of course the pirates don't give a damn about whose colony is whose, all they care about is the fact the Spanish coins have a higher content of gold._ He came to a decision.

"We don't need to be weighed down, but we do need coin in order to buy provisions and anything else we'll need until we get everything else in place."

"By 'everything else' I assume you mean until we figure out how a non-threatening crew of three can plunder and pillage ships?"

"You know, you're a lot snarkier than your appearance led me to believe" Yeosang saluted sarcastically in response, causing Hongjoong to roll his eyes. "Take only what you can carry without hindering yourself and take both guineas and doubloons, understand?"

"Aye Captain" Wooyoung said happily, already starting to pick bags up, weighing them in his hands before checking inside.

"Cap-you don't need to call me that"

"It's your rank isn't it?" Wooyoung shot back without sparing him a glance. 

"Yes…but rank's not important to me and I really don't think there's any need for formality between us"

"The friends that jail break together stay together, right?" Wooyoungs' loud laugh echoing in the room in concert with the other boys deeper chuckle. Hongjoong had to smile at the pair. Once their laughter died down, he tried again.

"Just call me Hongjoong, I'd honestly rather prefer it." he paused. "Or….Joong" he gruffly added. Wooyoung looked at him slyly.

"Aye Joongiiiee" he sang. Hongjoong just waved him off, rummaging in the chest nearest to him until he'd found a bag of guineas of a decent weight, and a matching bag of doubloons. He tucked them in to his jacket, commandeering a few smaller bags of silver pieces and tucking them away in his pockets, before rooting around in his pack and carefully pulling out the extra supplies he'd added.

"Is that…gunpowder" a deep voice came over his shoulder.

"Yep… I felt like celebrating our new adventure with some fireworks" he smirked.

"We're blowing up the treasury?" Wooyoung's eyes were wide, two bags of money clutched in his hands, and his pockets bulging with a couple more by the looks of it. "Best day ever" he breathed.

_He's really taken to the life of crime, and I'm not sure if the ease of it should worry me, or if I should just feel guilty for corrupting him. Considering this was my plan, I shouldn't really be judging others for the ease that they accept it but I had expected a little bit of resistance when it came to this part._ _Then again finally being free from this place and everything that happened here, along with the people that screwed you over, ground you in to the dirt and tried to turn you in to a criminal before unfairly executing you, probably does that to a person. Well, that and actually getting back at them for everything they've done. Nothing like some vengeance to brighten someone's mood and change the priority of their morals, and after everything they've been through here and the way they were treated I can't really blame them for going all in to get back at them, and this will do the job nicely. The Kings taxes being blown sky high will make a nice headache for the Commodore, and that's just the start._

Hongjoong had noticed that since leaving their cell, the boys had relaxed little by little the further away from it they got and the further in to the plan they went. Shedding the rigid posture of a cadet, shaking off the regulations and rules and allowing themselves to be themselves. Yeosang came up to stand next to Wooyoung and he noticed the boy was also holding on to two money bags, with what looked to be one or two more in his own pockets. Yeosang noticed him looking.

"We followed your lead, because we didn't know how much money would be necessary. We haven't had so much money before, and we rarely get a chance to spend what we do have so we've never really bought much either, let alone clothes and supplies. You might not want us to call you Captain but….the title's still yours. You've got more experience than both of us, and this is all your plan, we're just coming along for the adventure"

"Besides you don't seem the type to abuse your power….you're too tiny for that" Wooyoung teased. Hongjoong swatted at him in mock outrage, feeling his face break in to a smile. _This is the right decision, the right path. And they're the right people to go on this journey with._ He felt it in his bones. Hongjoong could also feel something he hadn't felt in a long time swelling up in his chest…. _happiness. True happiness._ He hadn't joked around, or smiled and laughed since he left the orphanage and left his adopted family behind...or what was left of it. As soon as he'd joined the Royal Navy he'd had to contain himself at all times, act a certain way, image and appearance was everything here. But now? They could all be themselves for the first time in a long time and that thought, that realisation was clearly freeing to the three of them. They didn't have to watch what they said and to whom they said it.

 _I've missed having younger siblings._ Hongjoong hadn't realised it before, not as acutely as he did in this moment. He quickly motioned to the pair to put their newly acquired money away in their packs, before he could allow himself to get emotional. Once they'd stowed the money, he carefully handed each of them a small bag of gunpowder.

"Pour it everywhere, and make sure it's in neat lines but leave an open area at the centre of the room." he instructed, the other two nodding in confirmation. Quiet minutes passed with nothing to be heard but the soft _shh_ of the gunpowder being poured out of its bags and on to the ground. In no time at all, black lines of gunpowder snaked across the floor of the room, connecting in places to form a deadly web, with a space at the centre of the room left empty as per his instructions. Hongjoong poured out the last of his bag, bringing it to an end in the centre of the room. Reaching in to his bag, he pulled out yet more bags, giving both of the other boys one each, keeping one for himself and placing a couple of them on to the floor in the middle of the room close to the end of his deadly black line, making sure the end of it met up with one of the bags he'd opened, allowing some of its contents to spill out to meet it.

"This is going to cause the big distraction?" a skeptical, deep voice sounded to his left. _Sure it doesn't look like much like this, it'll spark and fizz and maybe cause a small bang or two...but this is just the first stage. We've just laid the groundwork._

"Come with me" Hongjoong threw over his shoulder as he exited the room after checking to make sure the coast was still clear. _Of course it is, the guards have been taken care of and everyone else will be in the mess gossiping about what happened today. This place is practically a ghost town right now_. "While you boys were indisposed, I made some preparations." Hongjoong gestured down the hallway. The treasury was placed at the end of two hallways, right in the corner. The hallway immediately in front of them lead down towards the Commodore's office, with the hallway that branched off to the boys old room and the mess further down on their left side. The hall to their right, lead back the way they'd come, to the cells. Hongjoong gestured to his right. "There's supply rooms dotted down here, housing quite a copious amount of gunpowder. I've told the Commodore time and again that it's perhaps not the best place to store it, that it should be stored somewhere that wasn't quite so easy to access but he never listened." Hongjoong gestured to directly in front of them. "Down this way we have plenty of disused rooms usually used for visiting officials and of course...the Commodore's office"

"Right..."

"Before coming to you, I took the liberty of shifting some gunpowder around. It's absolutely shocking how little anyone questions you when you're a Captain or ranked higher. The two guards at the door earlier wanted to find out what was going on, so I told them I'd watch the door for them and my rank apparently makes me trustworthy...everyone else was too busy rushing to gawp at you two being dragged to the cells, or rushing to spread the gossip to everyone. If anyone did notice me, all they would have seen was the Captain of a ship due to leave with the tide in the morning, collecting some extra supplies...but of course there would be no point taking it all the way down to the docks at that hour, I'm sure they'd agree. So it was quite reasonable for them to assume I was leaving it in one of these rooms to collect in the morning."

"...What did you do?"

"Like I said, I redistributed some supplies" Hongjoong couldn't help but be smug. No-one had questioned him, or at least no-one had _dared_ to. People were rushing about so much in a frenzy over this little scandal, that they paid little to no attention to what he was moving and where, most people had gathered out in the square to spread the news and Hongjoong was quite adept at lugging around barrels with speed. Hongjoong pointed to the right again. "Open the doors up to a quarter of the way down this hall, any further and you'll likely come across some guards." he pointed straight on. "Use what I just gave you and do the same thing, make sure the barrels are open and the lines meet. Just in case anyone comes along make sure the lines outside the rooms are tight against the wall so they're hidden in shadow, and close the doors after you. As long as the gunpowder runs under the gap between the door and the floor it should do it's job. Then again, this is just a precaution in case my calculations are off and the chain reaction doesn't start"

"Chain...." 

"....reaction"

The look on the boys faces was priceless. They blinked, as the implications of what he was saying, what he'd planned and arranged, hit them.

"You put barrels of gunpowder in the empty rooms" Hongjoong's grin could politely be described as diabolical.

"Oh yes. I did. At least far enough down there to meet the first of the gunpowder storage rooms." Hongjoong hiked a thumb in the direction of the hallway in front of them. "As for down there, we're going to put them in rooms all the way down to the Commodore's office. I already moved the barrels we'll need closer" Hongjoong gestured to a door close to their left. He hadn't had time to plant all the gunpowder they'd need, so he simply settled for setting up what he could and making sure the rest of the supply was close enough to the treasury that they could still pull this off with some speed. He'd simply moved the gunpowder from the first storage room in to the nondescript room next to the treasury, and the gunpowder from a storage room further down the hall in to the storage room he'd just emptied.

"People...people aren't going to get hurt, right?" Wooyoung asked tentatively.

"Only a little" Hongjoong smirked. "And no-one who doesn't deserve it."

"What about the civilians, they won't make them pay the taxes again will they? They can't. They already gave all that they had" Yeosang murmured.

"Oh they won't be able to collect taxes from them again. If they do, there will be a riot and the people will protest and word will get back to the King that not only did Flint manage to lose the taxes in the first place, but that they couldn't be recollected because no-one in Port Royal has any money left. Which just won't make sense to the King, as he sets the taxes fairly, in his opinion, insuring everyone has enough to live on at least, even if it's not by much. Flint will then have to explain this strange occurrence to His Majesty, which will be quite difficult to do as he increased the taxes without the Kings authority...and our dear monarch has never seen a penny of this additional money collected in his name. I imagine Flint would quite like to avoid that inevitably awkward situation, and keep his head attached to his shoulders, perhaps he'll blame pirates, either way, he'll have bigger problems to worry about than us and the people won't suffer for it because in this situation...they have more power than he does in that there's more of them than there are of him. He might even resort to paying the taxes himself, which will be a first for him, I'm sure." Both boys eyes were wide. _Ah yes, I'd forgotten that they'd only scratched the surface of what goes on in this place. This isn't even the half of it._

"How can he-"

"Because the King largely leaves the Commodore in charge, this is a naval stronghold after all and he trusts him. He's never let him down before...that he's aware of. Flint meanwhile, pays off anyone who's inclined to notice anything. Money speaks this far away from the Court, and out from under the watchful gaze of the King. It's an effective blindfold for any eyes the King sends here. If this surprises you, I don't think your innocent little hearts could take what else goes on around here" Hongjoong said, fondly.

"So what's next?" Wooyoung asked, eyeing the gunpowder pouch in his hand.

"You two will pour the gunpowder like I instructed, while I move the barrels in to every single room down that corridor. You just need to keep the line of gunpowder going so each and every barrel in every single room is connected, but as I said, it's just a precaution. In theory each barrel should set off the next by the force of the explosions. We blow this place up, money goes flying, destruction ensues and everyone will be focused on here and trying to save what they can, and figure out what happened. While _we_ will be down there" he gestured in the general direction of the docks. "Stealing a ship and getting out of the bay as fast as possible. At this time of night, and with the chaos that will be going on up here...we shouldn't have any trouble at the dock. But we won't have time to disable the other ship kept there, there's only two in port right now, including the one we're going to take. We need to focus on getting aboard the ship I was supposed to Captain tomorrow, it's supplied with gunpowder, ammunition, and rations and it's ready to go. It'll be the easiest one to take. Any more questions?" Wooyoung and Yeosang shook their heads. "Good. Let's get started."

They worked quickly and quietly, the boys pouring out neat lines of gunpowder starting the furthest away from the treasury, opening at least one of the barrels in each room and allowing some of the powder to pour out on to the floor to connect with the lines running between and around the rooms. By the time they'd finished with that part of one hall, Hongjoong had finished stacking a haphazard pile of gunpowder barrels in the treasury, in the space he'd left for them at the centre of the room and on top of the open bag he'd let spill on to the floor. From there, Wooyoung had helped him take the barrels from the room next door, and move them to each of the empty rooms along the hallway, taking extra care when having to pass in front of the entrance out to the square, or the entrance to the hallway that housed the cadets and officers, Yeosang continuing to pour out the neat black lines connecting them all, closing the doors behind him as he did so until they finally reached the Commodore's office.

They had been able to hear the sounds of their comrades drifting from the mess, so they assumed that was where everyone had decided to congregate and talk over the excitement of the day. Of course some of them could well be in their rooms, and the ones guarding were all outside. The Commodore on the other hand, would no doubt be with his Captains having a meeting on what to do with Hongjoongs new companions. They would be back closer to the cells, in the room at the far end of the hall used for planning manoeuvres, and other plotting to do with the Fort. Hongjoong tested the handle just in case, but it was locked, meaning the man wasn't in there. _Perfect._

"The Commodore is the only one with a key, how are we going to get in?" Wooyoung whispered.

"Well I was going to find something to jimmy the lock with but seeing as you have quite a talent for kicking doors in, now's your time to shine Wooyoung" he gestured to the door.

"It's not that difficult if you hit were the lock is weak" he mumbled, before obliging and bringing his boot down on the door, sending it flying open. For the most part they'd only placed 3 or 4 barrels in all of the other rooms, but for the treasury and now the Commodore's office...Hongjoong wanted to send a message. So they quickly piled all the remaining barrels of gunpowder in to the centre of his office, connecting it to their elaborate web of destruction and tossing what was left in the bags Hongjoong had given them to pour out, on top.

Closing the door behind them, Hongjoong dusted his hands off, the other two following suit. Although they removed the loose grains that had been stuck to their hands after using them to funnel out the powder, or shape the lines more, black stains still clung to their skin. He led the way back down the hall, until they were around about halfway up. _This should be about right._ Hongjoong crouched, pulling out the pistol he'd stashed with the gunpowder, and holding it close to the line of black on the floor.

"Ready?" he asked the younger pair. They both nodded with varying degrees of trepidation. Hongjoong used the pistols flintlock mechanism to create a spark, the powder coming to life with a vicious hiss, igniting and burning in both directions at a timely speed. "Let's go" he said calmly. Stashing the pistol in his belt.

* * *

They quickly walked the short distance back down the hall, and towards the arched doorway leading to the square. Edging out in to the night air. The square was deserted save for the guards atop the wall facing outwards and the two at the gate. Casually Hongjoong started to stroll across the square towards the gates, Wooyoung and Yeosang following close on his heels and trying to act casual. Wooyoung had a mental timer ticking down in his head, and he was on edge waiting for all hell to break loose as they approached the guards at the gate.

"Captain Kim. Where are you going at this hour?" a voice called out, one that sounded familiar to Wooyong, unfortunately. _Please don't be the pretty one, please don't be the pretty one._

"Just heading in to town, thought I'd visit the tavern before I sail out tomorrow" Hongjoong replied congenially. Wooyoung and Yeosang lurking behind him. "May as well get one last drink in, it'll be a while before I get to have another" the guards laughed along with him. _Out of all of the guards in this damn fort, why did he have to be the one on duty tonight?_ Wooyoung tried to hide his face, as one guard in particular tried to peer around Hongjoong.

"Who've you got with you?"

"Oh just two of my soon to be crew members! It's my first time sailing with them, I thought I'd make them feel welcome"

"Cadet Jung?" _Dammit._ Wooyoung fixed his usual smile in place, the smile this particular guard was used to seeing, playful and teasing.

"Oh, Guard Drake, fancy meeting you here" _idiot. What did you say that for?! Where else would he be!?_ But he couldn't take the words back. Hongjoong moved towards the other guard, making sure his eyes weren't on Wooyoung and Yeosang and engaging him in conversation about the best taverns in Port Royal and which was more likely to be a suitable place for a send off. Wooyoung swallowed and looked at his favourite guard, feeling Yeosang sidle closer to his side. 

"Aren't you...you're supposed to be in the cells. I heard..." Wooyoung winced.

"Technically....yes?" Wooyoung's voice was unsure, and he quickly gathered himself together, gaining strength from Yeosangs comforting hand on his back. "I know what they're saying about us but it's not true...it's not. Please believe me, they twisted everything and turned it all around on us but I was just trying to protect Yeosang from Simmons. You know what he's like...I know you do, and you know me." but the other man looked unsure. Sure he knew Wooyoung, they flirted with each other all the time, engaged in casual conversation but that was about it. Wooyoung had to hope it was enough, hope that the carefully created side of himself he'd shown the man would help him to believe Wooyoung wasn't a dangerous criminal. "Please. I wouldn't lie to you, not about this. We just want to leave quietly, and get away. We won't come back, we won't cause any trouble...but if we don't leave tonight they'll execute us in the morning I'm sure...for something we didn't do." _Lies, all lies, but necessary ones, anything to get him to believe me and let us walk out of here without any trouble._ He reassured himself, placing his hand on the mans arm and moving in closer. They weren't on a first name basis... _yet._ Wooyoung had been building up to it amid all of their flirting. Biding his time because he'd thought he had all the time in the world to figure out if he wanted to try for something more serious with someone that would be breaking his rule. Wooyoung leaned in further. "I've always been honest with you, you know that, I swear I'm telling you the truth about this. You know how things get twisted around here because people like to gossip without all of the facts, we haven't even had a trial yet but they've already decided that we're guilty. They don't even have any evidence" _I was caught in a somewhat compromising position, one could argue, but he doesn't need to know that. He's not disagreeing with me or pulling me up on my white lies...and he should have been on guard the entire time. He wouldn't be able to abandon his post, and he's not the type to. Not for some gossip so maybe he doesn't know all of the details yet...just some rumours swirling about. Hopefully...it's a risk I'll have to take._

Wooyoung slid his hand down the mans arm to clutch his hand. "Please, help me this one time." Wooyoung gazed in to the mans eyes, purposely biting his lip and watching the mans eyes follow the motion. _This is taking too long, it's time to try a different approach, desperate times..._

Wooyoung tilted his head down and looked up at the man from under his eyelashes, lips pressed together in a nearly there pout. It was one of his signature looks and it had never failed to get him what he wanted thus far. He prayed that today wouldn't be the day it finally ceased to work on, well....everyone. "Please" his voice was soft, pleading. He tried to make his eyes look as soulful as possible. As innocent as possible, as he gently stroked his thumb across the mans hand that was still in his grip. "You're the only one who can help me, I need....I need you" 

Guard Drake flushed, attempting to clear his throat and unable to tear his eyes away from Wooyoungs' gaze. _And once again, I save the day with the power of my dashing good looks._ He thought, smugly if not pre-emptively considering they weren't out of the gates and safely on their way from the fort just yet. But the guard was going to cave, he could tell. Wooyoung wasn't sure if it was the pleading, or the suggestion of being desperately needed for once...or both combined, but one of them had worked. He turned his head, no doubt to check on what the other guard was doing, in order to presumably let them slip out of the gate while he was occupied. After spotting that the other guard was still chatting away to Hongjoong, he'd started to turn back to face them, presumably to tell them to go.

It was at that moment a cloud decided it had gotten bored with its position in the sky, and moved just enough to the side for the moonlight to glare down on them. Guard Drakes' eyes dropped bashfully to where Wooyoung's hand was clutching his, thumb still gently stroking the skin there. His bashful expression morphed in to a frown as his gaze sharped and he started examining Wooyoung's hand in his. Wooyoung looked down to see what had caught the guards attention. _Perhaps he's surprised by my unusually soft skin, I did pay a lot for that lotion, it's a shame I didn't get a chance to stock up on it, I suppose my hands will wither away in to calluses and cracks and.....s_ _hit._ The gunpowder stains stood out starkly against his skin. 

"What-" Wooyoung knew what the guard was going to ask him, but unfortunately he didn't get a chance to finish asking his question. A deep rumble rang out across the fort cutting him off, the ground shaking. Deep booms going off one, then another, then another, and another, glass smashing as windows shattered with the force of the explosions. In other words, it was the sound of their carefully laid out gunpowder barrels igniting one after the other, getting faster and faster. The guards ringing the battlements turned towards the sound, and Wooyoung found himself turning to look at his handiwork as well. Black smoke was pouring out of the arched door leading to that particular corridor, orange flames licking out of it. _Oh, the hallway appears to have caught fire too._

Wooyoung glanced over at Hongjoong, who was in the middle of quietly mouthing a countdown, _three...two...one..._ with a deafening explosion both ends of the hallway they'd come running out of earlier erupted, causing them all to duck instinctively. The windows blown outwards as smoke poured out in to the night air while rubble rained down around them along with the guards who'd been atop the walls nearest to the explosions. Wooyoung stared at the Commodore's office. _Oh look...it's nearly open air now._ He observed, taking in the missing chunks of wall. The treasury hadn't fared much better and he wondered if the walls would collapse entirely as he watched cracks spidering out along one in particular. _Is a fort still a fort if it's open to attack on one or more sides?_ The guards atop the walls went running, scrambling to get away. Technically they should have stayed in their positions in order to keep an eye out for an enemy attack, but as they panicked, they abandoned their duties. Rushing to get to safer ground, and for those out of the danger zone, rushing towards the main building.

Cadets started to pour out of the hallway before they became trapped just in time for the walls to start to come down around them as the weakened stonework started to give way along the rest of the wall. The Commodore's Office and the treasury had been completely annihilated, now just a mess of rubble and other debris, fires were burning visibly in both and... _I think w_ _e're about to have a sea view._ Wooyoung eyed the wall directly across from the gates and to the left of the treasury. As Hongjoong had said, there were multiple gunpowder stores along it, it was just a question of if the fire and explosions would reach far enough to trigger the next one. Although judging by the havoc they'd wreaked Wooyoung didn't think it was a matter of _if_ , more of _when_.

He didn't have to wait long to find out if he was correct in his assessment. Another large explosion ripped through the Fort, ripping a hole in the sea facing wall, sending more rubble and guards flying, right on time. _So_ _it really did reach the one of the other gunpowder storage rooms...and if that was possible then it's entirely possible the other storage rooms will be set off too._

Wooyoung's attention was brought back to the guard in front of him as he started to sputter. He was looking between the chaos Wooyoung had helped to cause, and Wooyoung's hands. Or specifically the incredibly incriminating gunpowder stains glaringly visible on them. Wooyoung heaved a sigh. _We were so close to escaping cleanly, just walking out of the gate...we could have been halfway towards Port Royal by now, without things getting messy. If only he hadn't been the one on duty. This is what I get for flirting with someone at work when I know better, my rule is in place for a reason and this is why. Well...not this exactly but it's a good example._ Wooyoung looked at the guard sadly, because there was no going back after this. Before he might have been inclined to believe what Wooyoung had to say, Wooyoung had never given him a cause to doubt him and it wouldn't be the first time things had been blown out of proportion in the fort. But now, after this? Knowing Wooyoung was responsible? The guard wouldn't believe a word Wooyoung had to say.

 _I guess it just wasn't meant to be, for all I know we could have been soul mates but now…._ Wooyoung sighed, momentarily lamenting the loss of his favourite flirtship and all it could have been if life hadn't been so cruel and gunpowder had the courtesy to burn slower. Completely and wilfully ignoring the fact he'd never have been able to see the man again after they made their escape anyway. Yeosang nudged him.

"Stop it, I can hear your over dramatic internal monologuing from over here"

"I was not"

"You were, your face always goes like this" Yeosang demonstrated with lips lightly pressed together and slightly pouted, a wistful gaze fixed off to the side as he heaved what he probably presumed was a lovelorn sigh. Wooyoung hit him on the arm.

"You don't understand my pain Yeosang" he said with a sniff as Yeosang rolled his eyes.

"Not again" he murmured. "Woo, there are plenty of other pretty guards…or sailors…or pretty people in general okay, I'm sure you'll find another one."

"But he could have been my soul mate Sangie" Wooyoung whined.

"For someone who mocks my romance books so much, you really do pay too much attention to them"

"If you're quite finished, we're in the middle of something here" Hongjoong cut in dryly.

Wooyoung looked at the pretty guard just as his brain acknowledged what his eyes had already realised to be true, the pieces slotting in to place and shocked eyes snapped up to meet his own regretful ones.

"You...you did-"

"I'll try not to break your nose, it'd be a shame to ruin your face" Wooyoung interrupted him.

"Wh-" Wooyoung punched him in the face before he could finish the word, sending the guard slumping down to the floor in a heap. _What a waste._ He thought as Yeosang grabbed his wrist, tugging him after Hongjoong's already fleeing form. His own guard a crumpled heap on the ground. After exiting the gate, they were faced with the sea facing side of the bluff and a clear view of the docks and town. They rushed down the path, the moonlight guiding them, and made it to the outskirts of town just in time to hear another loud _bang_ echo across the night as the fire caused by their explosion had no doubt reached yet another of the gunpowder stores and most likely resulted in another hole being ripped in the side of the fort. _And that's what happens when you store gunpowder where you shouldn't, they should have listened to Hongjoong_.

At this time, the only thing open and doing any kind of business was the taverns, everything else was shut, the windows dark. The streets were quiet, although heads were starting to poke out of windows and doors to see what all the fuss was about up at the fort. Some people emerged out on to the streets to stare and point at the explosions and fire clearly visible, even from down here and clearly enjoying the show. Others merely shrugged and went back to whatever they'd been doing before, indifferent to whether or not the pirates were attacking the navy or the navy had managed to somehow blow themselves up. As long as they weren't being bothered by the lot of them, they didn't care.

Wooyoung and Yeosang hurried after Hongjoong through the town, sticking to the streets closest to the sea, at the front half of the town and trying to stay in the shadows as much as possible, not that anyone was really paying them any attention, just as they'd planned, until finally reaching the docks. They paused, lurking in an alleyway that led on to the sea front, and observing. Port Royal was a hub in the centre of the Caribbean, not only was it a Naval stronghold but it was a frequent stop for sailors, merchants, soldiers and so on, it was practically the unofficial capital of the Caribbean. Merchant ships sailed out of this port all the time, often seeking protection from the Royal Navy. The East India Trading Company had a base here, as did many prominent merchants, and even those with no official business came to resupply as it was a stop on the way to many other destinations. As such, there was more than one dock. The two docks far to the far left were used for merchants and travellers, they could dock when they needed to load or unload supplies, otherwise they were to remain at anchor in the bay, using a tender to ferry themselves to and from shore. A ship or two dotted the docks, and out in the bay a handful more merchant and private vessels could be seen at anchor, easy to identify thanks to the soft glow of the lamps on deck. As was The Valiant, one of the Royal Navy's hulking warships. Meaning the only ship that was currently docked, and therefore must be Hongjoong's ship, was the…. _you've got to be kidding me._

"The _Victory,_ that's your ship?! We're taking _that_ ship?" Wooyoung gaped.

"That's the pride of the Royal Navy" Yeosang hissed.

"I know" Hongjoong's voice was smug. Wooyoung didn't need to look at him to know he was smirking.

"We'll never make it out of the bay" Yeosang was matter of fact. 

"Ordinarily that might be true, but everyone's a little busy right now, and they won't be able to get word to the skeleton crew on The Valiant that anything's wrong. For all they know I might have shipped out early because of whatever happened at the Fort. By the time they've dealt with our little firework display, they'll be panicking about explaining to the King where his taxes are and I think His Majesty will care far more about that than one ship. He's got plenty of those, after all."

"They will come after us" Yeosang warned.

"Maybe...eventually….but they won't be able to straight away. The only other ship here is The Valiant, if they use that to chase us down…..what's going to help protect the bay from pirates? There's always got to be at least one warship in the bay" Hongjoong shrugged. "By the time they get to come after us, they'll have a hard time finding us and if they do…we'll do what we have to. There's something poetic in taking that ship from them and using it for not entirely upstanding purposes, don't you think?" Wooyoung eyed the older man, _I suppose if we remove all the insignia…it'll be harder to tell which ship it is. There's nothing but the name to identify it as a Navy ship, without that and with a few changes it could be anything_.

"So, if there's no more questions…let's go steal a ship"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I post updates/general rambling at @writingaria on twitter!
> 
> I also have a CC now too if you want to ask me anything! https://curiouscat.me/writingaria


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Everything's all under control" is it though, Hongjoong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOHOO! One down two more to go and then we get to the main event! Although I have to say I'm kinda liking writing this story in parts like this so I might keep it up for the main story unless there's any objections?! 
> 
> The next part is all written, I just need to edit it...and usually that involves a few thousand words being added on, I'll also be starting to write the third part alongside that! I'll post the first chapter of the next part in a couple of days :) 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to write this and who's been reading this first part of my story even though there's no romance or ships yet! Well...aside from sailing ships *insert Wooyoung hyena laugh* 
> 
> The last thing I'll say is...I hope you like the little bit at the very end ;) I'm actually really excited to see what you guys think of it and to see your...theories ;)

Hongjoong strolled casually towards the naval dock his ship was moored at, approaching the two guards waiting at the end of it. They straightened up when they saw him, but still kept casting furtive glances at the Fort, which happened to be burning away quite merrily at that point with the occasional bang.

"Evening-" he started to say.

"Captain" the taller of the two guards said, trying to contain his obvious excitement. "Something happened at the Fort, did you see?" Hongjoong nodded, watching the man and his companion with his head tilted at an angle and an eyebrow raised. Guarding the dock was not a fun job, least of all on the night shift when there was nobody around. Just you, your partner and a whole lot of water. Down here, they were kept away from all the action and the excitement, most likely they'd been demoted to guarding the dock as a punishment, although for what he had no idea. _And the thought of an attack on the Fort has them excited for a chance to prove themselves no doubt, and finally get off of guard duty._ "Do you know...is….is it pirates?" the shorter guard whispered the word pirates, as if afraid saying it out loud would summon a horde of them to their very location. Hongjoong made a humming noise as he contemplated how to play this, he hadn't expected such eagerly chatty guards. 

"Can't say, I heard the commotion and when I went to look…." he paused. Both guards leaned in. "Something…or _someone_ had blown a hole in the Fort, right next to the treasury" the guards eyes widened. "I rushed down here to check on the ship as fast as I could, can't have it falling in to the hands of unscrupulous people, not that I don't think you're doing an excellent job guarding it but…better safe than sorry" he shrugged apologetically and the guards nodded eagerly. Not an unreasonable explanation for his sudden presence at the dock.

"Best ship in the fleet this one Sir, fastest too. If the pirates got their hands on this…well…" _they'd be hard to catch in the slower, weighted down warships nearest to this port, even without the lead they'd have._ He mentally finished.

"I'm not saying it's _definitely_ pirates….I'm just saying who else would have reason to attack the Fort and blow a hole in it? They hate us, we hate them, they've probably been just waiting for an opportunity to launch an attack" the taller guard was nodding along with everything he said.

"And you said they aimed for the treasury...can't get more piratey than that. We all know those ruffians care about one thing and one thing only...gold. Of course they'd make that their target" Hongjoong eyed the man. _Yes, the pirates who you believe to be after gold as their sole motivation would blow a hole right next to it and risk said gold going tumbling down in to the sea. Makes perfect sense._

"If it were pirates though….where are they?" the shorter one said, skeptically, gesturing out towards the sea which was currently calm and quiet.

"Well they'd be stupid to come near this part of the bay, there's two naval ships at anchor right here, one of which is a warship with two decks of canons. It would blow them out of the water before they'd even realised what happened." Hongjoong reasoned before leaning in conspiratorially. "Like I said, it looked to me like the hole was blown near to the treasury, and we don't see any ships here, which means…."

"They could be attacking from the sea just round the other side, out of sight, while we all stand here...or float in the case of the..." he gestured towards The Valiant, "completely unaware." the taller guard said excitedly. Hongjoong nodded sagely, when they looked at him for his opinion on the matter. 

"How about this, why don't you two run up to the Fort and lend a hand? I'm sure it would be much appreciated by Commodore Flint. It was absolute chaos before I left, people running about like headless chickens, flames everywhere...and if it really is pirates….they'll need all the extra hands that they can get to man the canons and fend them off." Hongjoong watched the excitement mount in the two guards the more he kept talking, the thought of being able to prove themselves in front of the Commodore himself making them stand taller. 

"Aye sir!" both guards snapped out with a salute, rushing past him and almost tripping each other in their haste. Hongjoong smirked to himself. _Easy as-_

"Wait…" the shorter one stopped suddenly, Hongjoong closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, attempting to hide his annoyance, before turning to face the guard who'd spoken with a polite smile and an enquiring look. "We're supposed to be guarding the ship, if we leave-"

"I'm the Captain of this ship, I'm sure I can handle keeping an eye on it, besides if it really is pirates I'll be needing to lead this ship in a counter attack, I'm sure my men will be following me down here any moment once Commodore Flint gives the order. She might be smaller than The Valiant, but she's just as good in a fight. If anyone asks you can tell them Captain Kim ordered you up to the Fort." he injected a hint of authority in to his tone. Both guards nodded with a rushed salute. "Now off you go, and be quick about it. The pirates could be storming the walls for all we know!" both guards paled at the thought and took off at a dead run, pushing and shoving each other slightly as they went as they vied for the lead before fading away in to the darkness. Hongjoong watched them go for a few moments, and when he was sure they weren't about to come back with another inane question, he whistled, summoning Wooyoung and Yeosang who melted out of the darkness to join him at his side.

"I think I see why they got demoted" Yeosang said dryly. "Who, with half a brain, truly thinks pirates would attack from that side of the Fort? Even if they did open fire they'd then have to get close to the rocks and scale a rocky cliff face, their grappling hooks wouldn't help them and neither would anything else they have on board, _and_ they'd be too easy a target. It would be child's play to pick them off as they climbed up. It would be far more logical to attack from the bay or from the mountain...or two have a two pronged attack. Fire on the Fort from the sea while the rest attacked from a more manageable angle" he scrunched his nose in disgust, and Hongjoong waved off his complaints. _He isn't entirely wrong, but when you've been stuck on guard duty for days and something interesting finally happens, it doesn't take much for your mind to leap to the most hopeful conclusion...especially if it could mean redeeming yourself and getting your previous position back. It's almost enough to make me feel bad because after this...I imagine they'll be stuck on guard duty for the rest of their days._

"I do love it when a plan comes together" Hongjoong hummed as they strolled along the dock towards the gangplank of the ship. Flint had deemed that the two dock guards were enough and had allowed the soon to be crew of the ship to spend one final night in a comfortable bed, meaning the ship was deserted as they hurried up the gangplank and on board. They quickly set to work making ready to sail, while Yeosang scurried up the rigging to unfurl the sails, Wooyoung focused on weighing anchor while Hongjoong pulled in the gangplank and cut any anchor lines still attached to the ship. Ordinarily there was a process to everything, but Hongjoong was focused on getting away as fast as possible, and all they needed to start them moving was just one of the bigger sails unfurled and the anchor not to be touching the ocean floor. _Hell we could probably make it out of the bay without unfurling all the sails but we need speed to ensure a large head start and a clean getaway so in the interests of that we'll have to leave the sails free at all times, at least for a few days, which means I won't be getting much, if any, sleep for the foreseeable future._

By the time he'd removed the rudder lock, Yeosang, who appeared to be remarkably light on his feet, had unfurled the mainsail and the main topsail and was making his way to repeat the process with the foresail and main foresail. The wind caught in the newly unfurled sails and it was enough to get them moving, silently gliding away from the dock. Duties with the anchor completed, Wooyoung came to join him at the helm. The ship picked up speed as the sails inflated fully with the wind, pulling further away from the dock and starting to move out in to the bay. As they started to come up on The Valiant, Hongjoong pulled out his spyglass, peering through the lens at the other ship for any signs of activity. As expected, the skeleton crew were all on deck…and staring at the flaming Fort and therefore not paying the slightest bit of attention to The Victory as it made its escape. With a snap, the foresail was released, instantly catching the breeze, allowing them to pick up slightly more speed. _It's all going according to plan._ He thought, smugly, pushing the spyglass closed with a click. 

He was watching Yeosang climb up to release the final sail when he heard it. A low bang followed by a high pitched whistle. _I don't suppose this could be real pirates attacking the fort?_ He swallowed, instantly recognising the sound. The whistling sound got rapidly louder, and Hongjoong turned hesitantly just in time to see a canon ball go sailing just wide of their port side, smashing in to the water with an almighty splash and sending up a spray of cold salt water to splatter over the ship's deck.

"Um…Hongjoong? Someone's firing at us" Wooyoung pointed out, as if it was possible for him to miss the sound of a firing canon. 

"Yes, thank you Wooyoung. I can see that." Hongjoong quickly brought his spyglass to his eye and aimed it at Fort Charles. Every sea facing canon along the outer wall was pointing in their direction, with more being lined up and readied to fire, smoke billowing in to the night behind them, as the flames danced and wavered. _I would think they might want to put that out, but apparently firing on us is more important than ensuring the Fort doesn't burn to the ground, roasting them all with it. As if I needed anymore proof that Flint's priorities are severely out of place._

As his gaze travelled over the hive of activity, it settled on three familiar figures. Captain Flint standing stiffly at the wall, hands clutching the stone in a no doubt white knuckled grip in between two canons and staring in the direction of their ship, no doubt his usual look of constipated anger on his probably bright red with fury face, and two other figures. Two...familiar figures. One shorter than the other, both excitedly pointing in the ships direction. _It can't be..._

He quickly snapped his gaze over to The Valiant, hoping that by some small miracle they hadn't realised what was happening with The Victory, in time to see the crew members who'd previously been staring up at the Fort, turning to see who or what was being fired at. _For fucks sake._ A faint shout could be heard echoing down from the fort, the barely suppressed rage in Flint's voice coming across quite clearly despite the distance. Hongjoong couldn't even allow himself to feel satisfied as the words filtered through the air and in to his hearing. 

"THEY'RE STEALING THE SHIP, CAPTAIN KIM AND THE CADETS! THEY'RE STEALING THE VICTORY" Hongjoong closed his eyes. _Of course. The Fort is exploding around them, it's a wonder they even have any gunpowder left, and rather than deal with that, they choose to fire at us, risking harm to their own damn ship all to protect Flint's damn pride and fragile lies. Of course it is entirely possible that the situation is so dire up there they aren't even going to try and save it because we blew one too many holes in the place._ He allowed himself a smug smirk at the thought. _"_ SINK IT TO THE DEPTHS IF YOU HAVE TO, STOP THEM LEAVING THE BAY" _Damn guards, I thought they'd be lost in the chaos, another pair of nameless hands rushing to move anything that could be saved, or attempting to put out the fire, I didn't think they'd actually bump in to Flint himself, at least...not this quickly. I thought we'd have more time._

"Now I see why the pirates kill any witnesses" he growled, snapping his spyglass shut.

"Told you we should have just pushed them in to the sea" Wooyoung said, sticking out his bottom lip slightly. "No-one ever listens to me" 

"Yes Wooyoung, push them in to the sea right next to the dock so they could climb right back out and shoot us" Hongjoong shot back.

"I never said their hands should be free" the statement was accompanied by a careless shrug. 

"I'm slightly disturbed by how easily you've taken to the criminal life" he remarked. "Go down to the stern canons, if The Valiant chases us this is going to get messy" Wooyoung nodded, rushing down the steps and disappearing through the hatch as canon balls started to pepper the water around them, one scraped the side of the ship with a teeth shivering screech. Another glanced off the port bow, but didn't hit hard enough to do serious damage...yet. While they were in range of the Fort's canons, it was only barely, and they were moving further and further away by the minute as they started to come level with The Valiant albeit with a solid stretch of water between the two vessels. 

Yeosang materialised from the rigging. "So much for a plan coming together"

"Yes well, I figured the guards would run around trying to make themselves useful and that they wouldn't be noticed in all of the chaos up there. I didn't think they'd be questioned just yet or end up finding Flint nearly straight away and telling him everything. It would have taken him seconds to work out it was a lie considering the fact there is no pirate attack. I'm sure he had someone check the cells just to make sure the two of you weren't dead in the explosions, and when I was unaccounted for as well...it wouldn't have been hard to put everything together. He may be a bastard, but he's a smart one"

"Should have used more gunpowder" Yeosang observed.

"Yes, thank you for that valuable contribution. Next time we decide to blow something up we'll use twice as much, okay? I was trying to cause chaos, and a bit of light damage, not actively attack a Navy stronghold and destroy the entire thing, let alone send it sky high while we were still in there."

"Blowing holes in the sea facing wall, and completely obliterating the treasury and Commodore's office is what you call 'light damage'?"

"They still have three walls don't they? It's still structurally sound...mostly" Hongjoong recalled the spidering cracks edging out from the treasury and Commodores office in to the wall they shared, along with the piles of rubble. He focused back on the situation at hand. They were still gathering more and more speed as the ship gained more traction thanks to the wind filling all four sails. The Victory was more aerodynamic than the bigger, bulkier Valiant, which was weighted down with far more firepower than his ship had. But he could see people scurrying across the rigging and sails snapping down almost simultaneously. Skeleton crew it might be, but they still had more people aboard their ship than he did on his, which meant The Valiant could get underway faster than they had managed to themselves, meaning it wouldn't be long before they were giving chase. _And here I'd hoped they'd decide they didn't fancy a high seas chase._

They were starting to cut through the water faster now that all four sails had been released, but they'd still barely just gotten past being level with the Valiant, nosing a little bit ahead, while the other ship was already starting to move.

"We might make it before they can catch up" Yeosang said, hesitantly. "It will take them a little longer to really build up some speed."

"No. We can't afford to take that chance, we need to slow them down or they'll keep chasing after us, and right now we don't have enough men to fight them off and navigate at the same time" They slowly pulled out of range of the Fort whose soldiers were trying to both deal with the blaze and collapsing masonry, the fire no doubt eating up anything flammable in the rooms it had spread to, and the walls weakening more with each explosion and move any remaining gunpowder stores as far from the fire as they could get it. All while attempting to fire at them at the same time as per the Commodore's now screamed orders, if the wild gesticulating Hongjoong could make out through one last check with his spyglass was anything to go on.

Moments later, they made it out of range completely, the canon balls being fired at them from the Fort falling uselessly in to the water. The Valiant on the other hand, was another matter as it heaved itself in to action and started to finally give chase. The Victory was in front and gaining more speed in increments, but the Valiant would catch up, as it wasn't a straight shot to exit the bay what with the water being peppered with other vessels at that current moment in time. 

"READY TO FIRE" Wooyoung bellowed from bellow. Hongjoong, tucked away his spyglass and gripped the helm with both hands.

"I suppose there's no going back now, I didn't want to take it quite this far but...desperate times." Hongjoong murmured. "HOLD" he yelled back

"Shouldn't we fire now, while we're ahead and before they can do any more damage than we've already sustained from the Fort?"

"Damage? You call this damage? It's a few scrapes, there's not even a hole. It's fine." Hongjoong was indignant. "We're going to have to let it get closer to make sure Wooyoung hits it, it's a smaller target coming at us head on and we can't afford to waste shots when there's only one...two people at most who can man the canons. Don't worry Yeosang, everything's under control." 

"I've heard that before" he muttered. Hongjoong chose to ignore the comment. _I believe my phrasing was "a plan coming together" I never said anything about everything being under control...._ he thought, sulkily. 

"With that said, I think it's best if you go belowdecks and man the other canon, when I give the order you two fire at will. One of you aim for the hull, the other aim for the main mast, understand?" Yeosang nodded and rushed off to join Wooyoung, jumping down the hatch rather than bothering to use the stairs and leaving Hongjoong alone on the top deck to wait in tense silence. He could hear the other canon being rolled forward and out of the gunport. He watched as The Valiant crept closer and closer.

The Victory might be the faster ship on open water, but it had barely got moving, granted it had managed it faster than other ships would have. But The Valiant, while being heavier in the water also happened to have a third mast along with double the sails they themselves had, all of which had been unfurled nearly at the same time, catching the wind and having them start to move forward instantly, unlike their ship which had had to build it's speed up. While there was a distance between the two ships to start with, and they had pulled away from being level with it before it started to move...it was possible for the distance to be closed as he could see himself when he wasn't carefully steering the ship to avoid the path of other vessels moored in the water nearby. _A bit more….just a bit more. If they want to fire at us, they're going to have to show their broadside because they're without deck canons, let alone front facing ones, so even if we don't get a hit on them before then…we just needed to be the faster shot when they leave themselves open in order to fire upon us._ Hongjoong could feel the impatience of his crew mates radiating up through the deck. _Almost there…_ he was starting to pick out details on the ship without needing to use his spyglass along with people running about on deck. _I suppose we may as well leave with a big finale, that's much more my style anyway. Ah...there._

"FIRE ALL" he bellowed.

Moments later two bangs reverberated throughout the ship simultaneously, two canon balls flying through the air and heading straight for the other ship. He watched as one canon ball glanced off the side of the other ship, and the other ploughed a hole through the hull although it was unfortunately not low enough for it to start to take on water, merely to create a nice window with a breeze on one of the mid decks.

"AGAIN. TAKE OUT THE MAST" _We need it dead in the water. No mast means nothing to get it moving, they can't run out the oars and use them, not with the crew they have aboard right now, and if we can get it taking on water they won't be able to follow us until it's fixed. Not if they want to stay above the water._

Silent moments passed as the canons were reloaded as fast as the two boys could manage by themselves, The Valiant creeping ever closer as it too, picked up speed, before the night was broken by the overwhelmingly loud noise of canon fire once again. This time Wooyoung, he assumed from the direction and angle of the shot, managed to hit the prow of the enemy ship, the bowsprit plunging in to the water as it was ripped from the body of the ship. The other tore a hole through the foresail but it wasn't enough to slow them down, and it could easily be patched without them having to stop to do so. 

"AGAIN" _Come on, come on._ The Valiant was ever so slightly starting to turn. They were gaining speed, but it meant nothing when the same was true of The Valiant, and in the bay the full force of the wind couldn't help them take an advantage just yet. Again the two canons fired one after the other and this time… _finally_ _._ One shot glanced off the foremast with enough force to send the mast leisurely tilting to one side as the wooden mast cracked slowly at first, but faster and faster the more it tilted until with a loud creak, it fell to the side, the sails brushing the water. The other, fired moments after the hit, smashing through the main mast, sending sails and rigging crashing backwards in to the deck of the back half of the ship. Despite the sudden loss of wind power, the Valiant still had some momentum going as it turned enough to bring one of it's long nines in to range. Hongjoong's eyes widened as he saw the flash of the canon firing and he ducked, a canon ball whistling over his head. Fortunately the angle was less than ideal for The Valiant, half turned as it was, so while they could fire at the ship...it wasn't enough for them to be able to get a direct hit on anything. It had been more of a shot to test the waters...to see if they were in range, then anything else.

Without having to order it, Wooyoung and Yeosang returned fire, sending the third mast toppling in to the water. Thanks to the angle of the other ship as it turned making it an easier target now, the other shot ploughed a hole in the starboard side of the ship and thankfully low enough that they should be taking on water. It wasn't quite enough to sink the enemy ship but it was enough to make it flounder, panicked sailors running to and fro across the deck. And as The Valiant floundered in the water, The Victory picked up more speed and the gap between the two ships started to widen. The Valiant had started to turn in order to fire on them, assuming they'd be able to turn fast enough and fire with enough accuracy to do enough damage to stop The Victory from moving any further, as such it was now angled in the wrong direction to properly give chase and was no doubt struggling to turn back to follow after them with no masts to help them and what momentum they had gained rapidly being lost with the changing angles of the rudder.

To give the skeleton crew of The Valiant their due, they continued to fire as best as they could but the angle failing to be made great enough for more of their guns to come in to range by continuing to veer to the starboard side, but now being attempted to move back towards the port side, combined with the lack of crew to operate the full range of their guns and steer the ship, meant that the Victory got no worse than a few additional scrapes and scratches.

 _We're lucky it was a skeleton crew, if they'd had enough gunners and a full crew to turn them faster we'd have been at the bottom of the ocean right now, as it was they were too preoccupied in trying to make sure they'd be able to match us in speed, and manoeuvring so that their guns could fire on us. I would imagine they only had one or two gunners themselves._ The top deck of the Valiant had been a hive of activity, with sailors in the rigging, at the helm and some seemingly preparing grappling lines to latch on to the ship, leading to Hongjoongs assessment that rather than focusing so much on trying to sink them, the crew of the other ship had made catching up to them their main priority. _They were reluctant to fire on their own ship, because they didn't want to lose the pride of the navy….unfortunately for them we didn't have that problem._ Hongjoong let out a relieved, adrenalin fuelled whoop as they finally managed to sail out of the bay entirely, The Valiant falling back to a speck in the distance as one last rumbling bang echoed out from the fort. _It would seem they didn't get to move all of the gunpowder out of the danger zone in time...these things will happen when you refuse to listen to reasonable storage solutions._

Hongjoong was soon joined at the helm by an overly excitable Wooyoung cheering at the top of his voice and trying to lead Yeosang in a victory dance, the latter of whom was struggling to pull himself out of the others grip.

"Woo, stop it" he whined.

"Come on Sangie, we're not in the Navy anymore..we never have to go back, never have to see Simmons again. We've stolen money and we're kind of rich now because of it...or at least richer than we've ever been! We've blown up a navy fort and now stolen one ship and nearly sunk another, coming out on top over a _warship,_ we've truly gotten our revenge on the lot of them...truly made them pay, and we're well on our way to being pirates which means now we can do whatever we want _so_ …" Wooyoung grabbed Yeosang's hands again, forcing the slightly older boy to dance with him as he waltzed him around the helm, although Yeosang was unable to stop himself from slowly forming a smile that soon morphed in to laughter as he and Wooyoung spun and twirled around Hongjoong.

"What did I tell you two? All under control"

"Sure" Yeosang arched a brow as he and Wooyoung came to a stop, the latter giggling in giddy delight. 

"Right, didn't doubt you for a second Joongie" Wooyoung added. "But," the younger boys features became more serious. "While we might have managed to get underway, make it out of the bay and even best The Valiant with just the _three_ of us, an incredible feat we can be proud of, but…we can't crew this ship by ourselves indefinitely." He had a point. Sure it was _possible_...but it wouldn't be ideal.

"Well then" Hongjoong locked eyes with first Yeosang, then Wooyoung, a slow smile spreading across his face, as his heart lifted. Light and free of worries and duties for the first time in years, excitement bubbling in his chest at the possibilities and the adventures waiting before them. "I guess we're going to have to find some more crew."

* * *

_The sea was peaceful, still as a mirror and reflecting all of the stars in the sky. Or at least it was before a young man burst to the surface, gasping for air as he clawed at the water, trying to keep himself afloat. The panic of nearly drowning still gripping him. He splashed manically towards the shore, until his feet finally touched the sandy bottom. He staggered out of the sea, sea water running off of him in rivulets, before falling to his hands and knees in the sand and taking huge ragged gasps of air. He'd gone out drinking with some friends or maybe the correct term in his situation was 'loose acquaintances'. Perhaps he'd drunk too much. He had after all, found it quite hard to put one foot in front of the other, but nevertheless he'd made his way to the rough, wooden planks of the dock, half fallen, half sat down on the very edge, legs dangling above the water and stared up at the moon and stars, contemplating the big wide world out there, and if he'd ever get to see more of it, all the while knowing that was incredibly unlikely. Putting off the moment he had to go back to the big, cold house he called home._

_Perhaps he'd slipped as he'd gone to stand up, finally gathering the courage to return home, the alcohol in his system throwing off his balance. Perhaps he'd hit his head on the wood and fallen in to the water. Perhaps it was an accident. Except for the fact that in the process of turning to the side to ungracefully crawl and stagger back to his feet, he'd seen a black, human shaped shadow behind him, and felt the impact of something heavy connecting with his head moments before he'd fallen in to the water. He was lucky the blow hadn't been harder, hadn't hit him at just the right angle thanks in turn to the awkward angle he'd been caught at as he'd gone to get to his feet. Rather than knocking him completely unconscious to drown in peace, he'd drifted down through the water, momentarily stunned, and close to blacking out with shadows invading the edges of his vision. He'd briefly contemplated just giving up, letting the depths take him, but..._

_Perhaps it was the lack of oxygen to his brain, but he'd had the strangest feeling that if he gave up now he'd miss something…or someone, very important and it was that nagging feeling that had jolted him back to life. So he'd kicked and fought, and clawed his way to the surface, lungs burning until he could see the star speckled sky above him and choke down as much of the cold night air as he could._

_On all fours in the sand he rapidly gained control of his breathing. He glanced around furtively, the moonlight shone down, painting everything in silver…with splashes of deep black shadows. He wasn't one to be paranoid under ordinary circumstances, nor afraid of the dark but it had just become painfully obvious to him that the dark of night was not his ally. It deserted the streets, leaving them bereft of any witnesses and the shadows it created could hide anyone, anything. Shadows could conceal any number of…accidents, and an unfortunate amount of them had been happening around him lately. Except, he finally realised, they weren't accidents. Someone was trying to kill him. And he had a good idea who._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So....who do we think it is? 
> 
> You only have to wait a couple days to find out...

**Author's Note:**

> Come screech at me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/writingaria) or [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/writingaria)!!


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